How We Got Started

Meredith Cosburn, affectionately known in Peterborough as the "dragon lady", caught the bug from a good friend in Toronto, Barbara Stewart. Barbara, a breast cancer survivor herself, helped Meredith get through diagnosis, treatment and life "after." She also encouraged Meredith to join a dragon boat team to "live life" as she had done.

After talking to Dorothy Hampton, who started up the Cobourg Survivor Thrivers team, Meredith became more inspired and "grew" the idea of starting Peterborough area's very own team. Dorothy gave her names of people who would make good initial contacts. First stop--a coach. Done. Len Minty, an experienced and enthusiastic dragoneer himself had just retired from teaching in Toronto and had returned to his roots in Peterborough. He jumped at the chance to help out.

Another milestone was getting the support of Peterborough Hospital as the team's official sponsor. Dr. Rowson, chief of surgery at the hospital, was instrumental in this. He and three other doctors donated $1,000 each for a much-needed down payment towards a dragon boat for the team.

So Meredith, her husband Larry and a co-worker and sister survivor, Charlene Vaughan, huddled together to begin the planning--without any previous fundraising experience. They distributed flyers everywhere and got their first story published in the Peterborough Examiner on October 23, 1999. The full-page coverage sparked enough interest for Liberty Mutual to fund a dragon boat built by Glenn Fallis of Voyageur Canoe.

Survivors Abreast held their first official meeting, with 29 women on November 18, 1999. They planned their first public event, being part of the Santa Claus Parade. Len Minty, their coach, thanks to the generosity of the YMCA, arranged for the team to start practicing by the side of the pool using special, slightly smaller practice paddles during the winter. The team's goal was to prepare for the real thing--dragon boat competitions during the summer and fall in Pickering and Toronto area.