Running with a Paws 5k
Watauga High School seniors Emma Balbier and Alli Brown organized and hosted a 5K to benefit the Watauga Humane Society as a part of their competitive written event for DECA in the community service category. They held the race at the greenway on October 28th at 5:30; the weather couldn’t have been better. It was the perfect fall evening for a race, with a great turn out. There was a total of 50 runners who brought their dogs, all accompanied by family or friends to support them and the cause, making extra donations to the event as well. Each runner and volunteer was given a “Running with a Paws” t-shirt to keep to remember the event and the cause. That evening all participants and friends congregated for around 30 minutes to get to know each other and to prepare for the race.
It began around 6:00 and was commenced by Emma Balbier giving a brief speech about the cause that was being supported and also thanked all participants, donors, and volunteers. DECA members Kate Cone and Carey Harrell handed out water to runners and directed them along the path as Clay Burchell took photos of the event to be used in Brown and Balbier’s project. More members, Paul Hagaman and Maddie Warren were stationed at the peak of the race, guiding runners where to go.
The winner of the 5K was David Sprague, younger brother of DECA member, Mary-Louise Sprague. His finished with a time around 21 minutes. After the race was over, the participants and volunteers grouped back together under the picnic shelters to have a quick drawing for prizes. There were prizes for both humans and dogs, all donated by local businesses in the county. Donors included Shoppes at Farmers Hardware, Blue Ridge Electric, Ultimate Kitchen Designs and Cabinetry, Anna Banana’s, Stick Boy, Melanie’s, and The Pet Place Up for grabs were two Anna Banana’s t-shirts, a Stick Boy gift card, and a pet-care basket donated by The Pet Place.
The event raised a total of $1,350, and after t-shirt costs they will be donating $1,000 to the Watauga Humane Society. The duo hopes to take their written event past state competition to ICDC, which is being held in Anaheim, California to represent the club.
