Community and band rumble in Bobcat Ramble fundraiser

     The bright sun made a 45-degree chill less noticeable as various members of the Milledgeville community ran for a worthy cause in the third annual GCSU Bobcat Ramble held last Saturday. 
     The profits from the race all went towards providing a local Baldwin County high school student an opportunity to attend GCSU on a scholarship.
     Amy Whatley, Wellness Depot Program Coordinator, was excited about the morning’s outcome.
     “This is a great event to have campus and community members collaborate for a good cause,” Whatley said.
The 5K race began at 8:30 a.m. at the GCSU Wellness Depot.  Sixty-eight runners trekked through main campus and downtown historic Milledgeville.  At the finish ,a rock band and refreshments welcomed them.  During the ending ceremony, each participant received a T-shirt and awards were given for men and women for the best overall time, best Baldwin County resident time, best non-Baldwin County resident time and best GCSU alumni time.
      Richard Dobson, a junior at GCSU, ran the fastest overall time.  He, like all the participants, had a unique reason for running that morning.
     “I just want to support this cause,” Dobson said.  “I only wish more GCSU students would have participated.”
     GCSU students Alicia Hayes and Jose Guerra both wanted to enjoy the run and support the race’s cause.
     “I’ve never run a 5K before—it was hard, a good rush,” Hayes said.
     “I ran consistent to what I usually run—not first place and not last,” Guerra added. 
     Among the various GCSU faculty members who assisted with planning, Detective Robert Butler helped coordinate community efforts to support the event.
     “Everything went smoothly as planned,” Butler said.  “We had a lot of help closing the intersections from the Milledgeville Police Department, and Oconee Regional had an ambulance on standby just in case—no incidents were reported.”
     Planners expect the race to continue growing as time goes on.  Their vision is that the Bobcat Ramble will become a significant community event for middle Georgia residents, similar to the likes of the renowned Peachtree Roadrace.  In three years, the event has raised nearly $5,000.  The necessary goal for the scholarship is $10,000; this is the required amount in order to receive recognition as a scholarship.
     “This is a good way for us to give back to the community in a different way,” said Kendall Stiles, director of the Give Center.
     “We’re still growing,” Whatley said.  “Anytime you can get people to come together and have a good, clean time, that’s a success.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 27 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry