Dozens of military personnel and local citizens tried to show off super-human strength this morning on a runway at Jack Garland Airport.
More than 20 teams of 10 gathered to take part in the Pull for United Way where the goal was to pull a 30,000 pound CRJ aircraft about a 100 feet with a rope.
The 2017 time to beat was 15.72 by the Voyageur Hurricanes. However, the 22 Wing executive lead by Wing Commander Colonel Mark Roberts was out to start things off and beat that aircraft pull record.
“Once the momentum gets going it is easier than you think pulling a jet aircraft,” said Roberts.
While the winning team will get to hoist a trophy along with bragging rights, the real purpose of the Pull for United Way is to raise money for a worthy local cause.
“The United Way has identified that in the North Bay and Nipissing area the greatest needs are poverty-related needs and meeting basic needs,” said Erika Lougheed, Manager of the Nipissing District United Way.
“There’s an incredible amount of people in our community that are not meeting the most basic of needs such as food, shelter and even human interaction so we have decided to put our efforts towards greatly funding those.”
Lougheed says those causes include the Gathering Place, the Warming Centre, and the PADDLE program.
Last year the event raised $2,500, so with more teams participating this year’s event should be able to pull ahead of those numbers.
