CONSTANCE BAY – For area newcomers Mila Dolezalova and Jasmine Larente, participating in last year’s West Carleton Terry Fox Run was a mother-daughter moment to remember.

And because of the fun they had with the 2018 event, mom Mila and daughter Jasmine are taking up the mantle of running the annual cancer fundraiser as Linda Cassidy and Bob Dupuis, the only organizers the event has even known, retire.

Dolezalova heard the long-time organizers were stepping down and in turn, stepped up.

“I was working out at the gym and I was told it might not go on if the original organizers couldn’t find someone,” Dolezalova told West Carleton Online from her new Constance Bay residence on March 15. “It was the first event me and my daughter attended in this community and so we decided to step up to the plate.”

Dolezalova moved to Constance Bay last June. It was a move home for her boyfriend Shawn Boudens and an escape from the city for Dolezalova.

My boyfriend is from this area and he’s happy to be back,” she said. “We were always escaping the city on the weekend so we decided we should leave for good.”

Dolezalova’s daughter has been a regular participant in Terry Fox Runs for years.

“Jasmine, through her school, has always participated,” Dolezalova said.

This is the first time Dolezalova and her daughter have taken on a project of this size.

“We haven’t done a project on this scale before, but Bob and Linda are so organized and they’re available to help, we will be able to do it together,” said Dolezalova, who has a fundraising background.

Dolezalova and her daughter will become a fixture at the Constance Bay Community Market, much as Bob and Linda and their Terry Fox booth were for that last several years.

Dolezalova is confident the community will come out and support the Terry Fox Run again this year.

“My feelings from Bob and Linda is their volunteers and supporters are prepared to do it again, so I thank them in advance,” she said. “I think we’ll make this year’s run another success.”