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The Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) has announced that the annual CEO Rescue in the Rockies for STARS fundraiser has once again been a staggering success, with four prominent CEOs working together to raise more than $696,314 in a single day.
STARS partnered with influential business leaders in Edmonton and Calgary and dropped them off at a remote location in Kananaskis Country. While stranded in the deserted location, the CEOs faced a series of survival tasks, including a fire building challenge, STARS mission challenge, and various phone call fundraising challenges. Using only their cell phones to collect donations, the CEOs had no choice but to raise $100,000 each before they were “rescued” by STARS air ambulance.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I hope it motivates a new round of CEOs to participate next year,” says Bob Geddes, President & COO of Ensign Energy Services Inc. “Thanks to the help, support and motivation from our family, friends and colleagues, we’re able to keep STARS operating and helping those in need.”
The CEOs who braved the uninhabited wilderness included Robert H. Geddes, president and COO, Ensign Energy Services Inc.; Ken Mullen, president and CEO, Savanna Energy Services Corp.; Brent Hesje, CEO, Fountain Tire; and David Smith, president and COO, Keyera Corp.
“These four individuals took an entire day out of their schedules just to help STARS. That says a lot about how much they care for their community,” says Gurpreet Lail, executive director of the STARS Foundation. “Without philanthropists like them, STARS would be nowhere.”
Funds raised through CEO Rescue in the Rockies will help STARS provide time, hope and life-saving transport to critically ill and injured patients.
To learn more about CEO Rescue in the Rockies for STARS, to donate, or to nominate a CEO for next year’s challenge, visit www.stars.ca.
