While family is paramount to the Fellows crew, community is important to them as well.
“God has blessed our family and our businesses time and time again over the years,” said family matriarch and Davenport Fights Back President Sue Fellows.
“We believe that it’s our obligation to pay that forward, and we take that obligation very seriously. Likewise, this community has been good to us – we’ve r
aised our kids here, and they’ve raised their kids here – we want to support our community to ensure that today’s children have the same opportunities that our kids had. Somebody paid it forward then – now it’s our turn.”
One way that they’ve been able to do that is through Davenport Fights Back, Inc., the non-profit company that the family founded to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
“Cancer hit our family hard,” said family patriarch Tom Fellows. “First my wife was diagnosed, then my daughter. But they’re strong women, and they fought back. Both are now in remission, but we are committed to continuing to fight back against this horrible disease, and our efforts with Davenport Fights Back is a way for us to do that.”
Davenport Fights Back, Inc. hosts an annual golf tournament, the Curing Cancer Charity Challenge, each fall to raise money for the American Cancer Society, in conjunction with Relay For Life.
“We used to hold all sorts of fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for the American Cancer Society, some definitely more successful than others,” Sue said. “We started trying to brainstorm as to what we could do to turn those into one big fundraiser. That’s when the Curing Cancer Charity Challenge golf tournament was born.”
The 2013 event marked the third year for the annual event, which draws golfers and sponsors from several states, as customers and vendors for all factions of Fellows Trucking Group joined to support the family’s efforts. The 2013 effort tallied a $15,000 donation to the American Cancer Society for the fight against cancer.
“Nearly every family has been hit by cancer,” said event co-coordinator and Fellows granddaughter Kristina Drexler. “Every person knows somebody who has been affected by this horrible disease. That’s why we’re diligent in our fundraising efforts for the American Cancer Society – it’s our way to fight back.”
The 2014 Curing Cancer Charity Challenge will be held on September 6, 2014 at Providence Golf Club in Davenport. Earlier this year, Davenport Fights back launched the Curing Cancer Charity Cast-Off fishing tournament. The response was overwhelming, and the event tallied $7,000 for the American Cancer Society. The Curing Cancer Charity Cast-Off fishing tournament will be an annual event as, tentatively slated for February 2015 at Camp Mack River Resort in Lake Wales. In addition to the golf and fishing tournaments tournament, Davenport Fights Back sells cancer-related merchandise at the Fellows Trucking Group office in Winter Haven.
“Every dollar counts – every dollar matters,” Drexler said. “We’ve seen the dollars that the American Cancer Society receives at work. Research matters. Today, cancer patients can fight back; that wasn’t always the case. And one day, a cure will be found. But until that day, families like ours, and companies like ours, have to remain committed to raising the dollars to fund the research to make the cure not just a possibility, but a reality.”
