Editor's Message
Last issue I commented that most of Canada was still in the thick of winter. Just when it looked like Old Man Winter was about to let go, he let loose again on Quebec. Check out our news section for some remarkable photos of the aftermath of a March 9, 2008, snowstorm that immobilized much of the province and brought the accumulated snow for the season to almost 12 feet.
It is part of a tower's job to be prepared for whatever the fates might serve up. It isn't always possible to know exactly what's coming, but preparedness is essential. Our recovery story pursues this theme with an article called Ready for the Big One, by Mitchell Gibbs, Manager of Emergency Services for TEAM-1 Environmental Services Inc. Gibbs recalls a horrific disaster on Highway 401 that closed the highway for 18 hours, and how emergency responders worked to untangle the mess. We can all imagine worst-case scenarios. The question is whether you have the equipment, training, and personnel to handle them.
Preparedness is key in another or our stories - Bill Gowans' article on towing at NASCAR events. Gowans answers the question of what it takes to run a wrecker or rollback in the big league of stock car racing. The skill and efficiency of these crews are rarely captured on tape (mostly due to commercials and race commentary), but their work, as Gowans states, is "poetry in motion." If you would like to read about another recovery scenario, turn to Larry's Stybas's story, Winter Bagging. In this tale, Ace Towing and Recovery of Golden, B.C., recovers a tractor-trailer full of frozen food, and thankfully, leaking fuel did not ignite.
Other stories of interest in this issue include a feature on Winnipeg's Dr. Hook Towing and a backgrounder on l'Association des Professionnels du Dépannage du Québec (the Quebec Towing and Recovery Association of Professionals). Finally, we offer the intriguing history of a man who just may be Canada's oldest working tower. Charlie Giorgianni started in the towing business in 1937, and he's turning 90. And as our editorial staff will testify, it wasn't easy keeping this article to 2,500 words. Until next time...

Kara Cunningham,
Editor

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