I have been meaning to post this picture for a while and got caught up with the 5k, now Wendy has held me to my promise. We went to Raleigh in May to a book signing for Elizabeth Edwards new book. I must say that I didn't know what to expect as I had never been to this type of event before. She spoke and read some excerpts of the book and I really enjoyed the time that she spent speaking to the group of 100-200 people. The theme of the book is resilience during difficult times, so the message really hits home with us. As you may or may not know John and Elizabeth Edwards lost their son to a freak car accident and have had their share of trials and tribulations to get to this point in their lives. Her message was inspiring to me because she has accepted what has happened to her along the way but still has her faith in God.

Unbelievable

Less than a week into summer vacation and Jeremy says to me last night, "Daddy, when does school start again?"

ourboys 5k update

http://ourboysjourney.blogspot.com/2009/06/ourboys-5k-update.html

ourboys 5k update

Thank you to all the volunteers and participants who made Saturday's event a success. Especially we would like to thank our planning committee members for their time and input. Andy Brown for coordinating volunteers and anything else he would offer to help with, Jeff McGonnell for his Race Director expertise, Monica Hughes for making the Registration table run smoothly, car wash duty and valuable insights. Mike Carneglia coordinated our traffic control and relationships with Concord PD and FD, Pam Barnard and Tonya Davis for the children's games! Laura Brown for being a data entry champion, and her input. I know I have missed someone somewhere and I hate that but please know that we are very grateful for the support that has been shown by the entire community for our family and for other families dealing with Batten Disease. We also would like to thank WR Odell Elementary and Harris Road Middle Schools for allowing us to use their facilities and for the support of the students and staff!

We ended up with 143 runners and walkers for the 5k and a great crowd for the 1 mile fun run. 5k results are posted on the registration site at http://www.sportoften.com/events/eventResultsList.cfm?pEventId=3925. I have pictures posted on our website photopage at www.ourboysjourney.com and my facebook page. I have been receiving pictures from others as well and will post them as I get them. Two personal highlights that I would like to mention. I was amazed when I saw Ian Smith pushing my son Brandon in his wheelchair to a second place finish overall. Brandon is a load at 150 lbs and the wheelchair is not designed to run the race that Ian took it on. The look on Brandon's face and the way he was holding his arms out pretending to fly as they made their way to the finish line will be something that I will never forget. Thank you Ian!!!! I also will not forget the pride that Jeremy carried with him for several days after finishing the 1 mile in second place overall. Unfortunately I missed him crossing the finish line, but there are a couple of great pictures of him reaching the end of the race. These are memories that I will cherish in the years to come.

The children's games were alot of fun, the kids enjoyed the fire truck and the car wash was a success as well!!!

Our preliminary totals estimate a fundraising total of approximately $15,000 again this year!!! Thank you to all donors, please remember that many companies have matching gift programs. It's not to late to donate if you would still like to, just click on the donate now button on this page, go to www.bdsra.org or send a check to us at 9630 Laurie Ave NW, Concord NC 28027 payable to BDSRA.

ourboys 5k results

Please check http://www.sportoften.com/events/eventResultsList.cfm?pEventId=3925 or email me at chawk328@ctc.net for race results.

Race Day is coming

Hard to believe we are less than a week away from this years 5k. Plenty has been going on in the Hawkins household. We made an appearance at all three Crossroads Church services today via the community moment video. Thanks to Anthony West for putting that together for us. It is tough for us to watch on screen sometimes, but we know it is a necessary evil to spread the word about Batten Disease. Online registration is available at http://www.sportoften.com/events/eventDetails.cfm?pEventId=3925 We have an all Volunteer meeting Thursday evening at Harris Road Middle School at 7pm. This will be a "dry run" so to speak. Friday evening we will mark the race course with signs and paint the rock at the school. We hope to have as many people as possible to sign the rock for a picture opportunity after the race. Saturday morning setup begins at 6am, registration at 7am and the race at 8am. Car wash at 9am as well. We can't thank you enough for supporting our family, we are blessed to be in a great community like Concord, NC.

International Batten Disease Awareness Days will be this weekend as well, on Sunday afternoon we will be at the Harris Teeter at Cannon Crossroads handing out free reusable grocery bags(they of course will be available Saturday too) while our supplies last.

The final countdown is on for ourboys 5k 2009

Here is a link to a nice article in the Charlotte Observer Cabarrus Neighbors section.  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/275/story/739701.html

Thanks to Andy for all he has done over the last three years, he didn't know what he was getting into when he agreed to be the assistant coach for Drew's Lakers basketball team back then.  The head coach has been working him ever since!!!!!!  Seriously, we appreciate his willingness(and by default Vonda and the kids) to get involved with our cause and spend many hours helping us raise awareness and funds for the BDSRA. 

 

June 6th is less than two weeks away, so if you plan on running or walking one of the races or volunteering some time that morning, please take the time to register online before the registration increases to $25.00 on June 3 at http://www.sportoften.com/events/eventDetails.cfm?pEventId=3925 or contact Andy at andy.brown@wachovia.com to get on the volunteer list. 

 

If you can't make it on the 6th but would still like to help we would welcome donations of bottled water and drinks, sponges, towels and car wash soap.  Other items that would help would be pop up tents and 6 foot tables.  Please contact us at 704-262-9396 or chawk328@ctc.net if you can help in this way.