(Newswire.net — October 22, 2014) Munfordville, KY — The Stan Cottrell WLOC Fun Run/Walk will take place on “National Make A Difference Day” to make a difference in the lives of Hart County, Kentucky children. The event was quietly spawned way back in 1960, when 17-year-old farm boy, Cottrell, accepted a challenge to run the ten miles from Horse Cave to Munfordville, KY.
Little did he suspect that run would launch him into 200,000+ miles of runs around the world for friendship and children… and bring him back home. Nor could he have anticipated how that $5 dare would become an “historic run” to his native Hart County, a celebrated event, a magnet to help its children.
Now, with the sponsorship of WLOC 1150 AM and urging of locals who were there 55 years ago, Cottrell’s original run will be “re-enacted” on Saturday, October 25th. It will be the First Annual Stan Cottrell WLOC Fun Run/Walk. But unlike the original dare, the run’s course will go in reverse from Munfordville to Horse Cave. It will be for a cause, and it will involve the entire Hart County community.
The Cause?
To help children get a warm coat and shoes for the coming winter and to meet other needs in one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the country.
Close to the center of Kentucky, this area is rich in natural beauty that belies its lack of worldly prosperity. Once the home of Daniel Boone and known for its many caves, Hart County includes a portion of Mammoth Cave National Park and many sparkling, clear streams.
But the tourist dollars have not reached the Hart County community. 87% of its population is rural, 92% are white, and a startling 31% of its children live in poverty.
The tough start in life handicaps these children going forward, too. 56% of the county’s kindergarteners are not deemed ready to learn. And 48% of fourth graders are not able to read competently according to the 2014 Kids Count County Data Bank maintained by Kentucky Youth Advocates (http://kyyouth.org).
This has been a major concern for area resident and WLOC Radio owner, DeWayne Forbis. He founded “Clothes For Kids” in 1998 to supply clothing and needs in the nine Family Resource Centers served by Caverna and Hart County schools. The Foundation has since taken in well over a quarter million dollars. 100% of funds raised by this all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization go directly to the children.
Now tying in with “Clothes For Kids,” Forbis and WLOC Radio are sponsoring this first annual run event appropriately on the heels of the annual “Remembering Munfordville” weekend festivities. Forbis said:
“I’m looking forward to this Saturday’s Stan Cottrell WLOC Fun Run/Walk. Saturday is ‘National Make A Difference Day.’ I don’t know a better way to make a difference in our community than supplying clothing needs of the children who are the future leaders.”
The Fun Run/Walk Event
The Stan Cottrell WLOC Fun Run/Walk is expected to become an integral part of the Clothes For Kids Foundation’s initiatives. The founders believe it will not only provide visibility and funds for the children’s needs, but also give them a spark of hope that can affect their whole lives.
This goes beyond critical, immediate, physical needs. Forbis notes sadly that all too often, the kids walk around with heads hung low, dejected, hopeless. Their vacant looks mirror the emptiness in their stomachs and the cold misery of coming winter. They seem to have already given up on life.
But Stan Cottrell, noted as a powerful motivational speaker with a generous heart, has a reported track record of stimulating hope in his audiences, and helping to instill the belief system and drive to give it substance. That’s part of his mission with this fun run event.
For the poor children, Cottrell also has special credibility: he was one of them. Growing up in a large family on a farm outside Munfordville, Stan reports he was around 13 years old before his family even had a light bulb, and before he realized his name wasn’t “Get Wood.”
“Home Boy Done Good,” world distance runner Cottrell is living proof that “the world is their oyster” if they use their unique gifts and dare to follow their dreams. This often barefoot, Hart County farm boy went on to set a new Guinness Record for his Trans-USA run in 1980. Over succeeding decades, he has made “Friendship Runs” across 40 countries, and has been honored by heads of state throughout the world. He received the HAFL Award, considered by many the “Oscar of Fitness,” plus many pages of award listings that can be downloaded with illustrations from his FriendshipSports.org website.
Cottrell’s advice to the children?
“Dream Big. And if that doesn’t work, dream BIGGER!”
So during the course of this event week, Cottrell is being given many opportunities to share with the youth his special brand of empowering messages. He combines homespun humor with mountain wisdom and world savvy.
Simultaneously, WLOC radio is actively raising awareness of the need and event both on local radio and worldwide reach with daily announcements now and live streaming of Saturday’s event on WLOConline.com. They hope to raise awareness throughout the USA of the plight of children in one of the most poverty-ridden areas of the country, and to attract more tax-deductible, charitable donations that will go directly to the children’s needs.
Event Support And Details
The Hart County community is supporting the event. It will start at 8:00 a.m. at the traffic light in Munfordville on Saturday, October 25th, and finish at WLOC Radio Station just before Caverna Hospital on 31W.
Everyone is invited to be a part of history with world class runner Cottrell – whether running, walking, in wheelchair, as spectator or otherwise. People can go any distance they feel comfortable. A special invitation goes out to America’s Wounded Warriors.
There will be ample assistance for runners. The Hart County Sheriff’s Office is supplying law enforcement vehicles for safety measures, assisted by the Horse Cave Police Department. The Horse Cave Volunteer Fire Department will be providing water & Gatorade, and the Hart Co. Rescue Squad will have Rangers for those who may get tired. There are also many local organizers to help make this a successful launch of a to-be annual event.
Local press is promoting the event, first with the Hart County News-Herald’s October 16th article to complement WLOC’s radio announcements. Multiple Kentucky television stations will be onsite. The News-Herald reports that a $10.00 donation is requested, and runners are asked to get sponsors. All benefits go to Clothes for Kids.
Certificates will be awarded to all participants, and photo sessions will be available with Stan Cottrell. There will also be free A&W Root Beer and Ski. The First Annual Stan Cottrell WLOC Fun Run/Walk commemorative T-shirts will be available for $10 each, but participants can purchase them for $5. For more event information, call 270-774-1485.
About Run Event Sponsor, WLOC Radio
WLOC is an AM radio station owned by Forbis Communications, Inc. It broadcasts out of Munfordville and Horse Cave, KY serving the Bolling Green area with Country Gospel, Local Sports and Bluegrass Music, and broadcasts Cincinnati Reds Baseball. The Business Office can be reached at 270-786-1000. Programming can be heard throughout the world via live streaming on wloconline.com. There is more programming information on www.am1150wloc.com.
About Ultra-Distance Runner, Stan Cottrell
In spite of humble beginnings deep in rural Kentucky, then years in sales and management positions and authoring two books, Stanley W. Cottrell, Jr. has kept on running. He hasn’t stopped since he chased a rabbit for hours and caught it at age 7. He was the first Southerner in the Boston Marathon, and a pioneer of an unusual sport called “ultra distance.”
Cottrell has run the equivalent of almost 9 times around the earth as a goodwill ambassador spreading the messages of friendship, cross-cultural understanding and hope. He has films of his 2,025+ mile run from the Great Wall of China to Guangzhou (“China Run”) and Vietnam (“Destination Danang”), among others with film awards, and has helped in reconciling nations. Now age 71, in Ethiopia he commenced the first segment of his “Global Friendship Run” to benefit the world’s orphans and abandoned children.
But charity starts at home, and that’s where Cottrell is today in Kentucky. Find out more about Stan Cottrell on FriendshipSports.org. In the Media, see: The Power Of Stan Cottrell’s Friendship Runs.