Buford High School’s cross county booster club received $750 from the Rotary Club of Braselton for having the most participants in the Run the Vineyard 5K on Aug. 17 at Chateau Elan. See more scenes from the fifth annual Rotary fundraiser below.
The Rotary Club of Braselton hosted its fifth annual race Run the Vineyard 5K on Aug. 17 at Chateau Elan.
A light rainfall came during a portion of the race but the majority of the 246 registered runners braved the possibility of precipitation and showed up to take on the course’s challenge.
“We were hoping for it to be our largest, and it was,” said Howard Hardaway, president-elect of the club and race coordinator.
Josh Thompson, 17, of Buford, was the overall male winner with a time of 17:20, and Megan Ward, 16, of Dacula, was the overall female winner with a time of 21:54. The masters male winner was Chip Kiel, 58, of Flowery Branch, who finished 13th overall with a time of 20:54. Beth McCurdy, 43, of Dacula, was the female masters winner with a time of 22:23. She finished 25th overall. (See other race resulted below along with LeAnne Akin’s photo gallery.)
Proceeds from the race will support Jackson County Boys and Girls Club, Braselton Rotary Club charities and The Boys & Girls Clubs received a check for $5,000 which will be matched by Southeast Toyota Distributors, according to club director Michael Williams, a Braselton Rotarian. He was joined by several club members who assisted with traffic control on the course. Williams said the funds would likely go toward the computer room at the new Jefferson club which is now under construction. Fundraising is continuing toward the project.
Three area cross country team Booster Clubs were also the beneficiary of club support through the “Cross Country Team Challenge.”
Hardaway said, “The challenge is not to see who can run the race the fastest, but to see which team can get the most runners to our race. Runners for their high school team can also include friends and families. Last year we gave $500 to the team from Jackson County Comprehensive High School for having the most runners at the race, and this year we have added an additional two levels of prizes so we can include more high schools.”
Buford High School had the most runners competing and received a check for $750. The Jackson County Comprehensive High School cross country team received a $500 check for second place. Flowery Branch High School’s cross country boosters got a $250 check for third place.
Rotary President David Gussio thanked all the participants and the sponsors of the 5K. Sponsors included Paul Maney, Liberty World Beverage, Howard Hardaway State Farm, Wilco Printing, the Town of Braselton, Supreme Foods, Anderson, Tate & Car, Anderson Physical Therapy, Braselton Christian Academy, Independence Bank, Jackson EMC, Whole Foods, Phil-Mart Transportation, Operation One Voice, Best Friends Veterinarian, Mahaffery, Pickens & Tucker, Hamilton State Bank, Roberts Plumbing, Georgia Transmission, Safelite Auto Glass, Runners Fit, Anytime Fitness, Brenda Branch and Kilpatrick’s Nrusery, Tree Farm, Landscaping.
