Trucker Dukes’ Week: Events Held in Honor of Maui Boy
Family and friends of a Maui boy who passed away last year after a battle with pediatric cancer, have organized a memorial 5K and golf tournament in his honor. Before his passing, Trucker was sworn in as an Honorary Fire Fighter, joining the ranks of his father, Joshua Dukes, who is a Maui firefighter. Trucker passed away after a hard fought battle with Neuroblastoma in March 2017.
The events this week will raise funds for individuals with cancer by bringing together a community of resources to support them, while also helping fund innovative research for a cure. Details are posted below:
The 5K run and 1 mile walk will not be for time, but will be a running celebration of Trucker. Trucker’s mom, Shauna Dukes, loved to take Trucker for scenic and healing runs in the stroller along Holomua Road. This year, Shauna will be sharing this special path with the entire Maui community to raise funds for other individuals fighting cancer. Click here to register.
A Trucker Dukes Memorial 5K event will be held at 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 17, on Holomua Road in Pāʻia near Old Maui High School.
This volunteer-driven event is dedicated to Trucker Dukes, a three-year-old Maui boy who battled Stage 4 neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive pediatric cancer. The 5K run and 1-mile walk will not be for time, and is organized as a running celebration of Trucker.
Trucker’s mom, Shauna Dukes, loved to take Trucker in his stroller for scenic and healing runs along Holomua Road. Shauna and the Dukes Family will be sharing this special path with the entire Maui community to raise funds for other individuals fighting cancer.
“Our goal is to bring the community together to celebrate Trucker and give back to other Maui families who are fighting pediatric cancer. We hope this event speaks to Trucker’s everlasting enthusiasm and love,” said Shauna Dukes.
Registration for the Trucker Dukes Memorial 5K presented by UVSC is open at UVSC.org. The entry fee is $35 and includes a t-shirt, goodie bag, and light refreshments. General donations may also be made at the UVSC website.
The event is presented by the non-profit UVSC that helps those fighting cancer to live on. UVSC raises money for individuals with cancer by bringing together a community of resources to support them, while also helping fund innovative research for a cure.
The organization was founded in 2015 by two Maui boys, cancer survivor Jamil Newirth and Chris Thibaut, who lost his father Rob Thibaut to cancer in 1997. UVSC stands for “U Versus Cancer,” as well as “Us Versus Center.”
Inaugural Trucker Dukes Memorial Golf Tournament
The inaugural Trucker Dukes Memorial Golf Tournament at the Kahili Golf Course in Waikapū on Saturday, March 10, 2018.
Judy Stratford, the grandmother of Dukes, is an avid golf player and organizing this event to honor her grandson and raise money for the UVSC Foundation Hawaiʻi. UVSC’s mission is to provide hope by raising funds for individuals fighting cancer, as well as supporting cutting-edge research for a cure.
“I want to make this tournament to be a fun event,” said Stratford who traveled several times from Maui to New York City to bring one of the three siblings to visit and help her daughter Shauna Dukes care for her youngest son during his cancer treatments.
“One day in New York, I got to join Trucker at an all-day outing to a community center with other families staying at the Ronald McDonald House New York. At a driving range they had little clubs for Trucker and I showed him how to stand and how to aim at the ball,” Stratford said. “He did great and was hitting balls and laughing as they would trickle down the hill. Shauna asked me to hit a ball and and it went flying down the fairway. Trucker said, ‘My want to do that, too!’ I told him Gram’s would teach him as he got older. Guess it will have to be in heaven now.”
Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa will make a statement prior to the 1:30 p.m. shotgun start.
Regular Registration is $125 for 18-hole green fees, power cart and light snacks.
A Golf Ball Drop, with numbered golf balls released from a fire truck, will allow for more participants to support the fundraiser without being present. Each numbered ball is a $20 donation.
Following the end of the tournament, participants can purchase food at the Kahili Restaurant including a special “Nacho Bar.” Prizes, including hotel stays, restaurant gift cards, helicopter rides, golf lessons and golf passes donated for the tournament and Golf Ball Drop will be handed out at the restaurant. Stratford is seeking sponsors and more prizes from individuals and companies.
Player registration, Golf Ball Drop, sponsorship, and donation forms are available online at www.TeamTrucker.org. Monetary donations are also accepted at any Bank of Hawaiʻi branch by depositing funds into the Trucker Dukes Memorial Fund. For more information please contact Judy Stratford at 808-359-1129 or via email at judylauren7@gmail.com.
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