Williamson Herald
Mindy Tate
news@williamsonherald.com
On June 7, Southern Land Company and Life is good® will join forces, once again, to host Middle Tennessee’s second annual Life is good® Festival & 5K at Westhaven.
The event will kick off at 3p.m. in the afternoon with festivities for the whole family. There will be games, music, and activities for children and adults alike to enjoy. The World’s Greatest Backyard Athlete competition will bring the crowd to tears with laughter at 4p.m. Last year’s competition brought a whole new meaning to the term athlete - a very funny and entertaining one too. Participants are asked to raise $500 for the charities. For information, go to www.westhaventn.com/lifeisgood5 k and click on the World’s Greatest Backyard Athlete icon.
The running begins at 5:30p.m. with the Jake Jolt (1/2 mile run for ages 7 to 12) and then at 5:45p.m. with the Rocket Run (1/3 mile run for ages 6 and under). Then at 6:30 p.m., after the heat has subdued, the Life is good® 5K will begin. The course will take you through the beautiful Westhaven community and will be coordinated and electronically timed by Team Magic. To register, go to www.active.com.
Runners will then be able to relax and enjoy food and live music by Jonell Mosser on the lawn of the Residents’ Club. Awards will be given and everyone is invited to stay for the celebration. Last year’s event raised $30,000 and organizers anticipate an even greater success this year. Raising a large sum of money for two well deserving charities is reason to celebrate.
“We hope that everyone will be able to stay for the great music and food after the race,” said Melonee McKinney Hurt, organizer for the 5K.
Last year’s event was held in the morning and organizers are very excited to shift this to an evening run.
The Life is good® Festival & 5K at Westhaven is an offshoot of the Festivals that Life is good® created and has hosted for the past several years in Boston, raising millions of dollars for children facing unfair advantages.
Much appreciation and thanks is to be given to the wonderful sponsors of this years’ event. It would not have been possible without these generous companies: Nissan, Westhaven, Southern Land Company Homebuilding, Harris Teeter, Regions Bank, Binks Outfitters, BGA, US Imprints, Outdoor Classic Structures, Way-FM, Williamson
A.M. - The Tennessean, My Friends Place, Vanderbilt Williamson, Birdsong Creative, Springtree Media, MAFIAoZA’S, Lee Company, Purity, Fleet Feet, The Spectacle Shoppe, Club Car Inc., Paw Pals Inc., Smart Water/Vitamin Water, Julia Corrigan and John Lafon.
Life is good®, based in Boston, Mass., spreads a fresh outlook on life with its colorful collection of apparel and its optimistic cultural hero, Jake. For more information
on Life is good® and the charities supported by the Life is good® Kids Foundation, please visit www.lifeisgood.com
The Boys & Girls Club's mission is to help at-risk youths develop the qualities and life skills needed to become responsible citizens and leaders in the community. The basis for all programs is the Youth Development Strategy, which states that youths become productive members of society as a result of having achieved a personal sense of belonging, competency, usefulness, and destiny.
Project Joy is a 501 c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the healthy development of young children who are at risk. Through innovative training retreats, Project Joy provides teachers and child-care providers with the resources they need to strengthen and heal their children through play. Established in Boston in 1989, Project
Joy has expanded to national scope, currently supporting children and their caretakers from Boston to Biloxi and beyond.
Based in Birmingham, Ala., Team Magic, Inc. has been producing multi-sport events for over 20 years. While triathlons and duathlons are the main focus and make up the majority of the events, Team Magic also has worked and currently works with several running events, including Birmingham Race for the Cure, the Mercedes Marathon, the Marathon Olympic Trials hosted by the Mercedes Marathon, the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge in Chicago, the Jingle Bell Jog for Arthritis, the JCC Montclair Thanksgiving run, and most recently Team Magic has been appointed as race management for the 2007 USA Triathlon National Collegiate Triathlon Championship.