Our 2011 GERWC Banquet proved to be another pretty darn successful evening on February 5, at SWIRCA -- with perhaps one exception still to be determined.  Snacks, libations and dessert by Bob Head,  dinner by Grandy’s or Panera and tons of work by Bob Lauderdale and Tim Roman assured that all were full and most were recognized in some way.  In an amazing display of generosity—Jim Nolan and our friends at Ultimate Fit provided valuable gift certificates and a free pair of shoes.   And to conclusively demonstrate that runners can be convinced to  run for just about any shiny trinket-- many race directors from all across the country sent T-shirts, mugs, Elvis Glasses, Harmonicas and other assorted race paraphernalia so that all took home something as a door prize. 

Good Eats R W C Banquet food for all

    Of course, there were some moments of genuine appreciation to be shown.  Our club’s highest award – The Ray Rayl Award—is given to someone in the community who has demonstrated special commitment to those who run and walk, and who – like Ray himself—is a person of exceptional character.  An especially deserving recipient this year is Barb Dykstra.  Through her work at the Evansville Y downtown, Barb has for many years promoted  running and walking events that draw the largest numbers of participants in the area.  Starting many years ago, the Y’s  3 race series was the premier series for local runners to participate in.  That series spawned the October Evansville Half Marathon that regularly involves greater than 2,000 participants and many volunteers.  The Y’s “13 Weeks to 13 Miles” training program is the area’s largest effort to promote the benefits of running and walking.  So to Barb, we want to say “Thanks” for your effort and commitment that has made Evansville a better place for those who enjoy walking and running.


    High School Cross Country runners rarely get recognized for the  efforts they give and the tenacity it takes to train in Evansville’s balmy  summers and to run throughout the season.  However, in keeping with our motto that “Something is better than nothing”, we were very happy to recognize in our own small way the Memorial High School Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams.  These teams were the most successful in the area this year—the girls team making it to the State Finals, and the boys coming close at Semi-state.  Though a case could be made for many outstanding runners this year, the club has chosen Caleb Kerr of North High School and Claire Bromm of Memorial High School as the individual outstanding  high school runners during the last season.

    The efforts of Bob Lauderdale and our friends at SWIRCA in promoting our Ray Rayl Race each year in October allow the club to recognize two outstanding students with a  scholarship check from the proceeds of that race.  Andrew Kendrick is a former Harrison High School student now attending Purdue University.  Andrew was running at a  track meet this evening for Purdue and he was represented at the banquet by his mom—who --it was unanimously acclaimed by all in attendance ---could be justifiably proud of him.  Andrew was a member of the Harrison Cross Country, Track and Soccer teams and a Member of the Key Club (a Community Service Organization) and was named to the Academic All City Track and Field team.  Emily Comer is a former North High School cross country runner, valedictorian, and student council president now attending USI.  Coach Wilson described her work ethic and leadership skills to be exemplary.  We were happy Emily’s parents Dave and Dana could be present and it was noted that it was not unexpected that Emily would spring forth from these two outstanding parents.

    Our club members achieved their own recognition as well at the Banquet.  Those who finished at the top of our Grand Prix series received their Customized awards courtesy of Tim Roman.  Please take a look at our standings at the GERWC website to see all the winners and a sample of the award Tim turns out.  You will want to participate this year, just to hang the award on your wall !  Those who received awards showed they were dedicated runners and walkers who consistently finish high in their age groups in at least 8  events throughout the year.  They are simply outstanding runners and walkers.


    Finally, no report on the banquet can be complete without a resounding Thank you to Tim Roman and to our Volunteer of the year Andrea Klotz.  Tim handles the website, coordinates activities through his many e-mail communications with club members and board members.  He completes Grand Prix standings and is in contact with so many others in the community who want to know what the club is doing.  Often singlehandedly, he has handled timing events for the club and was present at virtually all of the club’s 36 events last year handling the computer.  He is our resident expert with chip timing.  Andrea has handled the membership lists, works on the Board meetings and also attended virtually all the club events.  Her wonderful reliability is one of the keys to keeping the club running at the level it is.  She has helped build the membership to an all time high greater than 500 members.  For those things, we give her special thanks.  Another special thanks needs to go to Sue Henderson for her outstanding efforts at so many events to keep them moving through the chutes in an orderly fashion and help bring good results to so many runners and events.


    Now, to that part about the one “ exception” to the success at the banquet.  We still have not heard whether young Mr. Owen—one of the Memorial Boys Cross Country team members—was successful when he used his one minute time with the microphone in front of the entire banquet --not to tell us about his running or life goals-- but rather  to ask one of the girls on the Memorial team for a date the next Friday.   We hope he was successful, but as all us who run know, sometimes you don’t catch up with the girl running in front of you no matter how hard you try, and not every race is a PR.  Next time you see him, you may want to ask him just how successful he thought the banquet was.  If he is not that enthused, I guess we can all figure out what the answer to his request was.