It’s not every day a movie star shows up at Paris District High School – much less one made of metal.
The truck that played the part of Optimus Prime in one of the ‘Transformers’ movies was at the school Thursday as part of a wider tour of Brant County.
“I played with the toys when I was younger … so I know how they feel. It’s awesome to be able to share it with them,” said driver Chad Mills, who brought the truck up from Alabama earlier this week.
What brought Optimus to Brant County? Evan Leversage.
The seven-year-old remains in hospice care due to an inoperable brain tumour.
His illness brought thousands of people to his hometown of St. George last month to celebrate an early Christmas.
It also kept him away from the Transformer – even though he’s a big fan.
A police officer recorded Optimus’ visits so they could be shown to Evan at a later date.
“He will be all smiles when he sees the pictures,” said his mother, Nicole Wellwood.
Stops included the St. George fire hall, where Evan’s brother and cousins got a private tour and got to ride Optimus to their school.
As the truck stopped around the county, it collected donations for Evan’s Legacy – a new organization launched Thursday and designed to raise money for brain tumour research.
“Evan was given a Christmas gift by the world, but we will give a Christmas gift back to the world,” said Wellwood.
“We will help do groundbreaking research into childhood cancers.”
The truck is owned by Western Star Trucks, and is regularly used in parades, charity events and other festivities of that nature.
