Tour of Honour makes a stop in Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Tour of Honour made a stop in Fort St. John on Friday to showcase its housing setup for first responders and military personnel.

The Honour House Society was highlighted at Inland’s open house, where they were raising money for the Honour House and Honour Ranch.

Honour House is an 11-bedroom home in New Westminister that provides free accommodation for men and women in uniform, such as military, ambulance, fire, and police members, and their immediate families.

“If anyone is down there getting an operation, a procedure or therapy of any type, anyone that requires help down there, their family gets free lodging,” Inland Fort St. John’s general manager Jaret Pieper explained.

“There have been families looking to remortgage homes because they couldn’t move their entire family, but the Honour House has helped out in that way as well.”

Honour Ranch, which is also part of the Honour House Society, is a location near Ashcroft with ten cabins and a main lodge.

“It is for uniformed men and women who are suffering from PTSD or need any type of treatment. They go there to seek help, peace and quiet, and be one with nature,” Pieper said.

Inland supports Honour House and Honour Ranch, and earlier this year, 70 employees went to Honour Ranch to do some fire mitigation, such as tree trimming, on the entire property.

The event also celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Fort St. John Northern Lights Raceway this weekend.

Pieper said Inland sponsored Gord Cooper and his 1968 Kenworth Hot Rod, Smokin’ Gun, to come to the Energetic City for the event.

At the beginning of 2020, Inland moved into a new building, but pandemic restrictions barred the company from holding an open house.

“Now that’s all behind us, and this year being Kenworth’s 100th anniversary as well, we thought we’d piece it all together,” Pieper said.

Two trucks in Inland’s yard also turned 75 years old in 2023.

The open house included a barbecue, a chance to look at Inland’s equipment, games and raffle prizes, with the proceeds going to the Honour House Society.

The event ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Inland Truck & Equipment.