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The Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund (DMMF) continues its work in the community by donating defibrillators to help save lives.
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The last donation, number 139, was made to the Grand Bend Yacht Club on April 27. The defibrillator will be installed on a Blue Line Fishing Charters boat, which means on-water and beach emergencies can be handled with the waterproof defibrillator, DMMF co-founder Patrick Armstrong explained last week.
DMMF donations are made on behalf of law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, and military personnel who have died in the line of duty. Last week’s donation was made on behalf of Provincial Const. John Ferguson of Exeter, who died on the job on October 20, 1949. Armstrong explained that Ferguson had been sent out of Exeter to make an arrest at Grand Bend. After making the arrest and placing the suspect in the cruiser, Ferguson suffered a heart attack in the cruiser and died.
Armstrong said it wasn’t until 2017 that Ferguson was recognized as an officer who died in the line of duty and he was unable to find a photo of him.
This was the second defibrillator donated in Ferguson’s honor. A plaque acknowledging the donation will hang at the Grand Bend Police Station.
Armstrong said that since 2009, six lives have been saved thanks to defibrillators donated by DMMF.
In other DMMF news, A ‘100K in a Day’ fundraising event will be held on June 4 from the Grand Bend Legion in La Coruña where family members of those commemorated by the DMMF will march in memory of their loved one. All funds will go to the DMMF. To donate or volunteer, visit davemounsey.com and click on the ‘100,000 in a Day’ poster.
As previously reported, on May 22 and 23, Armstrong and his DMMF co-founder Dave Matheson rode 100 kilometers from Ilderton to Wingham in 22 hours, raising $16,000 for the fund.
The DMMF was founded in 2009 in honor of Officer Dave Mounsey, who was killed in an accident while responding to a call.
