Rotarians taking decommissioned emergency vehicles to Mexico

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on October 1, 2024.

Herald photo by Al Beeber Firetrucks are lined up in the parking lot of Canadian Tire South on Sunday morning before 17 Rotarians hit the highway on a seven-day trek to Mexico as part of the Los Amigos project of District 5360 of the Rotary Club.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Rotary clubs from Alberta and Saskatchewan are once again giving a helping hand to needy emergency services in Mexico.

A group of 17 Rotarians in seven decommissioned vehicles including four firetrucks and three handi-buses left Lethbridge Sunday morning as dawn broke on a seven-day, 4,100 kilometre trek to Mazatlan.

An eighth vehicle was supposed to be part of this year’s edition of The Los Amigos project but because of unexpected mechanical issues it was left behind and will be driven down on the next venture south.

Since the project started in 2011, 61 vehicles have been taken to Mexico and distributed by Rotary clubs there for use by emergency services in communities there.

To the knowledge of Randy Smith of the Rotary Club of Olds, all but one of them is still in service. The project is a huge partnership with many moving pieces, not including the vehicles themselves with a total cost of about $64,000.

And long before the drivers hit the road, work starts getting paperwork organized for Customs at the U.S. and Mexican borders which needs to be done at least six months in advance.

Once the Rotarians cross at Nogales, Mexico they’ll be chaperoned by Rotary Club members from Mazatlan who will help them with language barriers and any military or police roadblocks they encounter enroute to their final destination. Two clubs from Mazatlan are involved in the project and they are working with several others.

Communities receiving the vehicles have to sign an agreement stating they’ll maintain them, otherwise they go back to the Rotary Club of Mazatlan and then are redistributed to other communities in need.

Numerous Rotary Clubs in District 5360 are participating in this year’s project. They include Lethbridge Sunrise and clubs in Olds, Cardston, Pincher Creek, Brooks, Fish Creek, Fort Macleod, Innisfail, Okotoks, Stettler, Kindersley, Sask. And the Calgary Stampede Club. Seven Mexican Rotary Clubs are also involved. Sponsors include the City of Lethbridge, City of Brooks, Town of Fort Macleod, Town of Olds, Olds College, Canadian Tire South and several private individuals.

Smith, the project co-ordinator, said before the group departed on Sunday that collecting vehicles and fundraising takes about a year with each vehicle costing about $8,000 to get to Mexico, money which includes repairs and fuel.

The last project was conducted in April of 2023 when four vehicles were driven to Mexico.

Olds College, Smith said, have a heavy equipment program and took two of the vehicles in for servicing which gave students a hands-on learning opportunity. The college has partnered with the Rotary club for two trips now.

In Arizona, a Rotary club is also supporting the group financially and is putting the team up for a night.

Once in Mazatlan, the vehicles will be dispersed across Mexico.

The Rotarians go to the communities where the vehicles are taken and officially hand over the keys.

“We get to see where the vehicles are going,” said Smith, a retired fire chief.

Lethbridge Sunrise got involved in the project in 2013 with the City giving them three buses.

Jim Campbell, who was one of the original Sunrise members involved in the project, co-ordinated the local project until 2018 when Karl Samuels took over after taking interest in the endeavour.

Samuels introduced himself to Campbell, who invited him to a Sunrise meeting and soon Samuels, who had recently retired, found himself as local co-ordinator.