Moving money - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

HUNTERSVILLE – Fire trucks.
Police cars. Dump trucks. Race cars.
These vehicles and many more will be
at this year’s Touch-A-Truck event Saturday
at North Mecklenburg Park in
Huntersville at 11:30 a.m. What began
in 2007 as a simple fundraiser for lung
cancer research for Cornelius resident
Bo Johnson is now celebrating its third
year and more than $30,000 in research
funds.
And today, Bo Johnson is still fighting.
More than 2,000 people are expected
to attend the event that will feature
more than 30 vehicles provided by local
companies and residents. Vehicles
include a bulldozer from Granite Construction,
boats from Lake Hickory
Marina, a tractor from Charlotte Tractor
Company and a SWAT vehicle from
Huntersville Police Department.
“It takes a lot of time and effort to
provide a vehicle for our event, and all
our vehicle owners do it with a smile,”
Tracy Greene, co-founder and project
manager for Touch-A-Truck siad.
The event is geared toward pre-school
and elementary-age children and will
include face painting with Bubbles the
Clown, a visit from Carolina Panther’s
mascot Sir Purr, pony rides and a silent
auction.
Proceeds from the auction and the
$3 admission benefit Addi’s Cure, the
nonprofit organization founded by Bo
Johnson and his wife, Christi, in 2006
to raise money for lung cancer research
and education.
The couple named the organization
after their 3-year-old daughter, Addison
who was 7 months old when Bo Johnson
was diagnosed in 2006 with Stage
4 Bronchoalveolar carcinoma, a form
of lung cancer – although he had never
been a smoker. He was given four to six
months to live.
“Bo felt that no child should have to
grow up without their father,” Christi
Johnson said. “If you asked him, everything
he has endured
has been
for her and to walk
her to kindergarten
and then the
momentous occasions
that follow.”
Events like
Touch-A-Truck aid
in raising awareness
and diminishing
the stigma
often attached to
lung cancer, Christi
Johnson said.
Addi’s Cure has
raised more than
$330,000 through
Touch-A-Truck
and its local spring
event Beating the
Odds, a casinoinspired
dinner for
adults.
“More people
are aware of lung
cancer, but more
importantly, more
people are aware
that you can fight
cancer. Cancer is
a horrible, hard
disease, but it is something you can fight
and hopefully beat,” she said.
Bo Johnson received six rounds of
chemotherapy from Duke University
Hospital and was placed on the clinical
drug Tarceva.
“He has always taken any treatment
they have thrown at him and even decided
to do the most radical and have
a double lung transplant to remove the
cancer,” Christi Johnson said.
Not receiving The Herald at home?
On June 1, 2008, two years to the day
when Bo Johnson was diagnosed with
cancer, he endured a second transplant.
This time, his new lungs conquered
the odds, and Bo Johnson became the
only person in Duke’s history to survive
a double lung transplant.
“Family is very important to me…I
also want my daughter to see that you
never quit fighting, no matter what the
News
Touching event spawned from battle with cancer
by Jenna-Ley Harrison
news@huntersvilleherald.com
Children have lined up to explore different vehicles for the
past two years at North Mecklenburg Park in Huntersville
as part of the annual Touch-A-Truck event.
odds,” Bo Johnson said.
That fight has taught him about cherishing
what time he may have left. He
is currently battling liver and spine cancer.
“Our current doctors and our belief
is that we do not know how long Bo
will live. That is between God and Bo,”
Christi Johnson said. “There is much
more hope to be found when you do not
worry about time.” q
File photos
Order your free home delivery subscription today and start
receiving your hometown paper beginning next week.
We’ll provide a free Herald newspaper too!
Name:
Street Address:
City, Zip:
Yes, I’d like my free newspaper tube
No thanks, please use my existing newspaper tube or
bag and deliver to driveway
In Person: Herald’s Office, 501 S. Old Statesville Road, Huntersville
By Phone: Please call (704) 766-2100
By Fax: Please fax to (704) 992-0801
Email: homedelivery@huntersvilleherald.com
*Available to residents of Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson
Located adjacent to River Run
Just 1.6 miles from downtown Davidson
$
9,000
Buyer Incentive
For more information call
or visit
704.987.2228
White
ak
group, LLC
www.whiteoakgroupllc.com
Townhomes from the low $200’s
PROPERTIES
Real estate sales & seRvice
2 and 3 bedroom floor plans
Master bedroom main level
3
3
3
YOUR
CHOICE
LOAN
BUY DOWN
CLOSING COSTS
UPGRADE
OPTIONS/
APPLIANCES
BJ Knox
Broker Owner
Chip Hawkins
www.huntersvilleherald.com The Herald Weekly • Oct. 2-8, 2009 • Page 25