Cars of all shapes, sizes and models were welcomed to the ninth annual Sarah Beckett Memorial Cruise in Langford on Sunday (April 14).
“We don’t discriminate. Everyone is welcome here,” said event organizer Deanna Jennings.
Jennings started running the event after Beckett’s death to help raise money for her family. Jennings said there is a common misconception that upon the death of an RCMP officer, there is a large sum of money given to the family.
“That’s not the case.”
According to Jennings, Beckett was a dear friend to the car community across Victoria and would always come and hang out with the group in her Ford Mustang.
“She tried to fit in with the crowd to show them that if you follow the laws, there should be no problem.”
Beckett left behind two young children and a husband, and in its first year, the memorial cruise was able to raise $102,000 for them through a GoFundMe campaign.
The people attending the cruise could purchase a decal for $10 at each stop, displaying Beckett’s badge number 51939 and the current year. The colours alternate between red and white, representing the Canadian flag when turned on its side.
The proceeds from the memorial cruise since then go towards DARE, an anti-drug and alcohol education program for children.
“For Sarah Beckett, that was her heart and soul,” Jennings said.
She and her fiancé Graham Bunn organized the event. Bunn drove the community ambulance, which had been converted into an RV acting as a support vehicle for the group on these long road trips.
“We don’t leave anyone behind,” Bunn said.
Kelly Corbett, who has been involved with the cruise from the start, said the group was well-mannered and had strict rules about what was acceptable on the road.
“There will be absolutely zero tolerance for burnouts, revving, two-stepping or rolling coal,” he said.
The group met at Fountain Tire in Langford at 7:30 a.m. and over 20 cars drove up to Motorsport Circuit in Duncan, where they met with the rest of their group coming down from Nanaimo.
Once at Motorsport Circuit, the group headed to Port Renfrew to drive the ‘Renfrew loop,’ a popular driving location.
“It is just a beautiful slow drive,” Bunn said.
The tenth year will mark the end of the Sarah Beckett Memorial Cruise, and plans are underway to make it as big as the first event, Jennings said.
“Next year, as being the final year, we want to go out with a bang,” Jennings said.