MIRAMICHI, NB. —  “It’s the dispatch nobody ever wants to get. This will be the longest, hardest journey he’s ever made.”

The speaker is Roxanne Smith, retired teacher and spouse of the 2006 Highway Star of the Year, Terry Smith.  She is also one of those volcanoes of energy without which communities of all sizes would wither up and disappear. 

The dispatch she’s talking about is the pancreatic-cancer diagnosis of her lifelong friend and—for the past 15 years—Midland driver Kim Lawlor. Lawlor, whose CB handle reflects his heft and personality, learned in March that he had to hang up the keys.

Smith says, “I’ll never forget getting the text that said, ‘Big Daddy has cancer.’”

On Saturday, May 25, and thanks largely to the work of Smith as well as her fellow citizens Cathy Hare, Judy Tracey and Ruth Loggie, Miramichi will be the scene of what might be one of the largest convoys to ever hit New Brunswick. 

It’s all part of a big fundraiser they’re holding for the Lawlor family, and as Smith tells it, the more she spreads the word, the more support comes in.

“We could have up to 100 or dare I say it 200 trucks. We have no idea how big this is going to be.”

To get into the convoy, you have to enter the show & shine, and that costs $25.

All proceeds go to the Lawlors. And the convoy will be followed by a barbeque with live entertainment, a live auction and a silent auction.

“It’s not just us who did it. It takes an army of people to pull this off,” Smith says.

“And it’s not just financial support we’re trying to provide. We want Kim to know how much emotional support he can get too.” The locals love Lawlor.

If you would like to help, Roxanne Smith can be reached at 506-622-1005 or rodosm@nb.sympatico.ca