In early summer of 2007, a local Elliot Lake legend named Gregor McGregor was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the nasal pharynx, he was 21 years old. It was a very rare form of cancer and at that time, his chances for survival were just slightly better 50/50. Gregor being the great young man that he is, never felt sorry for himself and prepared for the fight of his life. In addition, he learned that he was surrounded by a family and friends that would fight with him every step of the way. Gregor's best friends, Phil Boscariol and Phil Ucci without hesitation, shaved their heads in support of their friend, spent every night of the summer in Gregor's basement (as Gregor was too sick from chemotherapy and radiation to go out) and both vowed not to drink while Gregor could not. These sacrifices were not easy, especially the last one in the case of Phil and Phil.

At the same time, the Ucci family wanted to help Gregor in any way they could. Vince Ucci, having no real skills other than an ability to throw a party decided he would do that as a means to generate money for Gregor's travel costs. At the same time, local business owner and generally amazing person Jane MacDonald was also looking to help Gregor in any way she could. Vince and Jane spoke and now the event that would be known as Gregorpalooza had a venue, Dunlop Lake Lodge.

That same summer, the Ucci mother and sisters, Sheila, Christina and Lisa began organizing a car wash/yard sale. What they did was they organized a day where they would wash cars and sell items that the people of Elliot Lake had donated.

That is how it began, that was the spark. At the time, all organizing parties hoped for the best and just wanted these events to be in any way successful. None of us could have possibly anticipated what was about to happen. That spark erupted into a forest fire of kindness and generosity. The car wash was an incredible success with countless businesses and individual citizens donating not just old junk but things of great worth, things that sold easily. The actual party known as Gregorpalooza sold out. Local musicians entertained all night for free and people came from all over, as far as the Northwest Territories. Moreover, at least 30 people, both male and female left that night hairless in support of Gregor and his fight. All the events that year raised just over $15000 for Gregor but Gregorpalooza did something even more than that. It showed Gregor that he was not alone, not by a long shot. It was an opportunity for the city of Elliot Lake to show its true colors and the people of this city did just that. That first year showed that we in Elliot Lake are one big family and when one of us falls down, we will all come together to help pick them back up.

For our 18th year of Gregorpalooza, we are very excited to be honoring an incredible woman named Liz Armstrong.  Liz came highly recommended by many people and anyone that spends any amount of time with her would quickly understand why.  Her kindness, compassion and zest for life is clearly visible from the first time that you meet her.  

Liz was born in England but migrated to Canada at the age of 19 to become a nanny.  She worked as a nanny for three years before meeting her first husband.  At the age of twenty four, she had her first child, a daughter named Alex and two years later she welcomed her son Thomas into this world.  In the midst of raising her young children, Liz made what she describes as the best decision in her life.  She decided to become a nurse.  For the past 19 years, Liz has worked for Bayshore Home Care Solutions, providing the highest quality care to the members of our society that need it the most.  Around that time Liz met her second husband and the two have been happily married ever since.  

In 2018, Liz and her husband made the decision to move to Elliot Lake.  She transferred within her company and was able to continue to work in the field she loved here in our community.  She was initially unsure of what she was getting into but quickly fell in love with Elliot Lake and its people.  When describing Elliot Lake, she said “I became a nurse to make a difference in people’s lives with empathy, respect, dignity and humour but I have received all that back ten fold from this community. This community helps me as much as I help them. The friends I have made are for life.”  

Unfortunately for Liz, her battle with cancer has been a long and drawn out one.  She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2009.  This is for most people, an easily treated form of cancer but unfortunately Liz was not so lucky.  After having her thyroid removed and undergoing some follow up treatment, it was discovered that her cancer markers were once again rising.  As a result, in 2013 she began another round of treatment.  This too, however, was unsuccessful and over time, her cancer markers continued to rise.  In 2024, cancer was discovered in both her spine and pelvic bone.  Since then, she has undergone various cycles of radiation to reduce it but unfortunately there is no cure.  

As with most battles with cancer, Liz’s comes with a great deal of economic cost.  After exhausting her own benefits as well as Trillium grants, Liz has had to pay out of pocket for her medications.  In addition, she has to travel regularly out of town for tests and treatments and as we all can attest, gas isn’t cheap.

In addition, due to the side effects of fighting cancer, Liz had to take significant amounts of time off of work.  As with every recipient of Gregorpalooza, we learn a hard undeniable fact about fighting cancer; it costs a lot of money at the exact same time as it severely limits your ability to make money.  This is where we come in.  

On a personal note, I want to describe when I first met Liz.  In September of last year, my father became very sick with an extremely aggressive form of cancer.  In a matter of days (not an exaggeration) he went from being the dad I had known my whole life to being bed ridden and facing imminent death.  Liz came into our home, having never met any of us before, and instantly brought a light into the darkest days our family had ever gone through.  Her competency, spirit, humour and compassion made us all feel at ease and most importantly, made my dad feel at ease.  She made my dad’s last days on this earth be ones filled with dignity, warmth, empathy and even some joy and laughter.  That is borderline supernatural.  I am also not under the impression that our family was somehow special.  This is just what Liz does and who she is.  For seven years in this community and for twenty across the province, Liz has brought a light into families’ homes when they have been at their darkest.  You can still see this in the way she describes her wanting to work, even after all she has been through.  

“My passion is my work, so getting back to what I love was very important to me. My prognosis is not favourable but I am staying strong and getting on with life. I have had to cut back on my hours at work as I struggle with stiffness and pain. It has slowed me down somewhat, but it hasn’t stopped my positive attitude and hope. It certainly affects my paycheck though.”

Well Elliot Lake, it is time for us to do what we do best.  When one of us is down, we help them back up.  Just like we have seventeen times before, it is time for us to all step up and show Liz that she is not alone in this fight.  She has us, the Gregorpalooza army behind her and we are going to do absolutely everything we can to bring light into Liz’s life, just like she has done for others for over half of her life.  In short, let's help Liz so she can get back to what she loves most, helping us.  Donate today, buy tickets, buy a t-shirt, spread the word and then donate again and let's all show this incredible woman what it means to be an Elliot Laker.