Participants in the Westerner Days parade on Wednesday received a warm greeting from spectators along the route.
But the reaction to Gene Wiebe’s entry was warmer than most.
The owner of Renegade Oilfield Services was pulling a 43-foot trailer emblazoned with a patriotic message: “Support our troops.”
Illustrating this theme was a rendering of a Blackhawk helicopter on one side and the Canadian frigate HMCS Nanaimo on the other.
In the rear was a depiction of a soldier.
“The response was — I can’t put it in words — it was overwhelming,” said Wiebe, describing how people stood, cheered and clapped as he passed.
“The salutes of the older people and stuff, it was almost a little emotional sitting in the cab.”
Even younger people showed their approval, he said, acknowledging that he was unsure about the reaction his trailer would prompt when he decided to enter it in the Red Deer parade.
“I’m so glad I did.”
Renegade Oilfield Services, which provides a broad range of oilfield transportation services, has operated out of Red Deer for the past decade.
“I’ve always been a real advocate for our military, and I feel our country isn’t united enough,” said Wiebe. “We don’t do enough for the boys that are taking care of us here.”
He decided to publicize his feelings and asked operations manager Shane Snydal — a veteran himself — to design a message that could be permanently applied to a company trailer.
“I didn’t expect it to be as big as what Shane brought it to, but he took it to the next level.”
The work was completed this spring, with the trailer appearing a month ago at the Alberta Big Rig Weekend at Westerner Park. An application to include it in the Calgary Stampede parade was made too late for 2010.
The trailer, which can be heated or cooled for the transport of chemicals, is used more frequently in the winter. Snydal thinks it’s an ideal way to communicate Renegade Oilfield Services’ message for Canada’s soldiers.
“We had this billboard going up and down the highway that was bland all the time.”
Snydal spent for four years with Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, serving in the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia. He’s had friends die in the line of duty, including one in Afghanistan.
He thinks his comrades in arms would approve of the Renegade Oilfield Services’ trailer’s new look.
“I think anybody who’s served in the military, they’d be proud of it.”
Wiebe is already making plans to customize another, 48-foot trailer.
He wants to salute police, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com