1st annual Run raises funds for mission work

By Carrie A. Mizell

Fifty people participated in Pine Grove Baptist Church’s 1st Annual 8K Run/2 Mile Walk on Saturday morning.
The event served as a fundraiser for the church’s 10-member mission team, who are planning a trip to Belize June 18-24.

Bill Trautman was the official timekeeper during the Run/Walk.

According to Jared Douglas, college and career leader at Pine Grove Baptist Church, the church netted $945 on Saturday, all of which will go towards the church’s first mission trip to southern Belize. Douglas said that details of the mission work have not been finalized, though tentative plans include home renovation work on an existing home.
“We did not set a financial goal for Saturday; we left it open to God,” Douglas said. “I am excited with the turnout we had and I think the event is only going to grow from here.”
In all, 33 people ran along the Greenway Trail on Saturday morning and 17 people walked the course, stopping only for water breaks along the route.

Lenore and Rylee Pevey are shown walking the two mile course.

Antonio Bongiovanni and Matthew George ran the full five miles.

Pine Grove Baptist Church would like to thank the event’s 41 sponsors, along with the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office, the Nature Coast Greenway Trail, the Gilchrist County Chamber of Commerce, City of Trenton and the plethora of volunteers who gave of their Saturday morning.
According to Douglas, the church plans to make the 8K Run/2 Mile Walk an annual fundraiser for mission projects.

Following the Run/Walk on Saturday morning, some of the participants, as well as volunteers,
gathered on the Trenton Depot steps.