Paid Advertorial
Winnfield Rotary Club held its Fourth Annual 5K Fun Run/Walk Fundraiser on Saturday, September 30, 2023, in conjunction with the opening of the Winn Parish Fair. Early that morning, beginning at 6 a.m. for the organizers and 7 a.m. for the participants, the “old Coonhunters’ Pavilion” was the site of much activity, including music by DJ Cedric Johnson, and registration of runners and walkers alike. It was a gorgeous clear morning with temperatures between 66 and 70, perfect for a good run!
The children’s one-mile fun run, free to all children between the ages of one and nine, began at 7:30, going down Country Club Road from the Coonhunters’ Pavilion to Hickory Ridge Drive, to the end of Hickory Ridge and back to the Pavilion and was completed before the 8 a.m. start of the 5K run/walk.
The 5K run/walk, open to all ages, traversed Country Club Road, Oak Ridge Drive, and Hickory Ridge Drive. Tyler Pyles, local physical therapist, took first place overall and in the adult category. Colby Pray gave Pyles a run for his money in a last-ditch sprint to the finish and placed first in the teen category. Baron Atkins came in first in the children category.
Winnfield Rotary Club is grateful to all the sponsors of its fundraiser, Price Beville & Smith, Azalea Drive Walkers’ Association, Winn Parish Journal, Laurel Heights Baptist Church, Winnfield First Baptist Church, Vintage Belles Boutique, Tower Loan, Bank of Winnfield, Louisiana Political Museum & Hall of Fame, Gaar’s Mill New Hope Church, Joe Evans, CFP, Mark Shelton, M. D., Inn Parish Medical Center, Winn Community Health Clinic, Jonathon McDow, Attorney at Law, Pharmacy Services, Six C Fabrications, Southern Funeral Home, Lowell Hubbard Logging, P. K. Smith Motors, Sabine Bank & Trust, Winnfield Family Eye Care, and Autumn Leaves Nursing & Rehab.
Funds raised by the event are used by Rotary to provide dictionaries to every fourth grader in Winn Parish, new school uniforms for underprivileged students in kindergarten through fifth grades in Winn Parish, scholarships for Winn Parish students to attend four-year universities and/or Central Louisiana Technical andS Community College, and leadership training for Winn Parish students progressing from their sophomore to junior year in school.
All entrants in both fun runs left the race with bags containing a race T-shirt as well as freebies from the various sponsors of the fundraising event.
All runners in the 5K were timed and may obtain their times from Mary Lou Blackley, race organizer, at blackleym0227@gmail.com or (318) 481-0227.
