Dawson Group staff were happy to be at Parkcrest Elementary School’s temporary home at George Hilliard Elementary on Friday to hand over $10,000 raised through an internal company-wide fundraiser.

Principal Catherine Gorman and Vice-Principal Grant Naylor, who accepted the money on behalf of the school’s Parent Advisory Committee, were surprised by the amount raised, and shed a few joyful tears before we came together for a group photo.

Brian Eshpeter, Chairman of Dawson’s Corporate Social Responsibility Committee said the opportunity to take this kind of action was welcomed by everyone in the company.

“When we heard of the Parkcrest Elementary fire in September, our office was floored.  We had a tremendous outpouring of support for the school by our employees in support of the families that were affected — both in our company and in the Kamloops community.  

“As a group, we wanted to show those we care for in our Dawson family that in times of need, we will pull together to help those communities we live in and serve.  We are thrilled with the level of support our employees donated to the school’s cause.  We know there’s still a long way to go towards recovery at Parkcrest, but we hope this employee donation can help replace some of what was lost.”

Pictured in the photo are event organizers Brian Eshpeter, Cheryl Thomas, Nicole Fontaine, Nicole McIntyre (and son) and Trevor McRae (and his daughter), all of whom worked hard to pull this fundraiser together.

We are very thankful for the generosity of everyone on the Dawson Group team who took part. All Dawson Group companies from across the province participated, including Dawson Construction, Dawson Road Maintenance, DCM Transport, Eagle Rock Construction, IRL Idealease and IRL International Truck Centres!

At the Dawson Group, our first and most important core value is People First — encompassing the notions of safety, inclusion, family, community and loyalty.