GLEN CARBON - After Allison Cassens succumbed to colon cancer in her early 30s, the Cassens family, who owns both Cassens Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram and Cassens Transport Company have combined to do everything they could for cancer awareness and fundraising.
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The latter of those businesses purchased a bright pink car transporter in 2013. The hauler, which is a 2014 Volvo, is painted so flamboyantly to bring cancer awareness. It has an eye-catching highway visibility and displays the words "Allison's Hope" on its side. Another truck was brought to the dealership Thursday morning. The 2018 model was painted in similar colors.
Cassens Transport Company Vice President of Facilities and Equipment Brian Suhre said the new truck was going to be purchased to replace the 2014 model, which has nearly a quarter million miles on it. However, Suhre said the original Allison's Hope is still going strong and has a few more miles before it needs to retire.
"The plan was to replace it," Suhre said. "We didn't want that image to get tarnished, so we bought a new one. The old one has a few more miles to go, though."
Scott Shadwick drove the original Allison's Hope. He said he took it across the country to more than 30 locations to which Cassens Transport Company delivered cars. Shadwick said the job was sometimes tough, especially when delivering to small dealerships.
Suhre said all drivers of Allison's Hope are either cancer survivors or have loved ones who have survived or perished from the illness. Usually, he said drivers choose their haulers based on seniority, but Allison's Hope is exempt from that. He said Shadwick would be making the first delivery in the new truck.
"It's a brand new 2018 model," Suhre said. "It hasn't even hauled a load yet. Scott (Shadwick) was the guy who brought the old truck here today, and he took real good care of it. He handed us the keys, and we handed him the keys to the new one."
Shadwick will be taking a full load of vehicles to Ohio this afternoon, Suhre said.
More information on Allison's Hope can be found on its website.
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