Pink truck draws attention to worthy cause

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (Oct. 1, 2011) By Kim Hasty for the Fayetteville Observer—Hillary A. Morrisey, better known as Ham, took some ribbing when he began driving a pink propane truck for Parker Gas Co. in Clinton. Parker Gas is the parent company of propane cylinder exchange service RapidXchange.

“They couldn’t pay me enough to drive a pink truck,” one man said to him.

But Morrisey didn’t mind. In fact, he purchased a pink hoodie to wear when he made his deliveries.

Behind all the pink, after all, stands an admirable mission.

“That’s my truck, and I’m proud to drive it because of the cause,” said Morrisey, 48.

Daren Parker came up with the idea of having a new truck painted pink in honor of breast cancer awareness.

He thought the truck would be an appropriate way to give back to the customers who have supported his family’s business. His father, Earl, founded Parker Gas in 1958. His wife, Michelle, is involved with the American Cancer Foundation’s Relay for Life.

Many of their friends have battled breast cancer.

“You don’t have to look far,” he said, “to find someone who has been affected by breast cancer.”

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but the pink Parker truck has been running since February 2010. Having pledged a penny for every gallon of propane pumped from the truck, the company has donated $7,100 to the American Breast Cancer Foundation. The money helps provide women and men in need with mammograms and biopsies.

Parker said the truck had to be painted and customized according to specifications by the American Breast Cancer Foundation. Before he completed the work order for all that pink, Parker made sure Morrisey, a route supervisor, wouldn’t mind driving it.

It turns out that the outgoing Morrisey is well-suited as a spokesman. He carries a stack of brochures on breast cancer awareness and shares one whenever someone asks about the pink truck.

Some of the responses he’s gotten may have been pointed, but most have been poignant.

“People will talk about a loved one that died,” he said. “Women will blow the horn and give me a thumbs up.”

People in Clinton have grown accustomed to seeing the pink truck, but it still makes a splash when Morrisey drives to Newton Grove or Smithfield, where two of the company’s other three offices are located.

“Some ladies will come out and take pictures,” Morrisey said. “I get a lot of attention.”