December 2, 2019
The sun came up shining brightly this past Thursday morning, with a persistent wind adding some sound but thankfully not too much fury. At seven locations across the region, an army of volunteers and Y associates were busily laying down cones and making final preparations for the thousands of people getting ready to participate in the Y’s annual Turkey Trot Charity 5k. In my household, a wife and two nine year old girls were none-too-pleased to be roused out of bed earlier than normal by a husband and father who was eager to get out there and plunge into the chaos. At least the turkey got a few more hours respite before being put in the oven.
A scene much like that was playing out in and around lots of homes in Bel Air, Arnold, Westminster, Perry Hall, Ellicott City, Waverly and Towson on Thanksgiving morning. While the final numbers are still being tallied and will be reported soon, we do know that close to 16,000 people participated in the seven races along with an army of dedicated volunteers, fundraisers, donors, associates and our many generous sponsors including our Title Sponsor Kaiser Permanente.
Based on my quick (unofficial) math, this year’s Y Turkey Trot likely yielded a little shy of $900,000 (net) for our annual giving campaign, which is about 30% of the overall goal. Those funds enable thousands of children and adults living on limited income to participate in Y programs they sorely need and want. In addition to its real worth as a fundraiser, I firmly believe that the Y Turkey Trot 5k is one of the best, most positive community-building events of the year. It's hard to not have fun and feel good about life when you participate in it. Just take a look!
This is truly an all-in effort with thanks owed to so many, I almost hesitate to start naming folks. However, let me publicly thank Suzanne Green and the entire center operations team who assure the races are extremely well-managed, safe and organized; Robyn Vance and our entire marketing team, who work tirelessly for months to drive record registrations, assure our sponsors are properly recognized and that the general energy around the event stay high; our Membership associates who help to significantly increase member participation; the Development team, our volunteers and others across the association who help to secure the generous support of over 200 sponsors; Eric Somerville, who works with so many to recruit hundreds of volunteers; our Youth Development teams for running our most successful Mini-Trots yet; and our many donors and fundraisers, including the unstoppable association board member Dana Smith who single handedly raised more than $25,000 (a personal record), and on and on!
Thank you all. Your efforts are a testament to the human spirit and to what is possible when a whole lot of well-meaning, big hearted people decide to do something truly good together.
I appreciate every single one of you.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland