Ninth annual run to remember deputy, aid charities

By Payton Towns III - The Union-Recorder

For nine years, people from Baldwin County and other areas in Georgia have come together to run in remembrance of a deputy killed in the line of duty in 1995.

The ninth annual Deputy Will Robinson Memorial Run, which will be held Nov. 13, begins at the North Baldwin County Fire Department on Airport Road. Robinson was 26-years-old when he was killed in the line of duty Dec. 17, 1995, after stopping a robbery suspect.

The 5K (3.2 miles) race beginning at 8:30 a.m. The race will start at Lakeport Road and go from Lakeview Road to Newport Road and back to Lakeport. A one-mile fun run starts at 8 a.m. Proceeds of the event will benefit the Will Robinson Scholarship Fund, Baldwin County D.A.R.E. Program and other local charities.

Awards will be given out to the top three male and female runners in several age categories.

Awards also will be given to the overall public safety winner and male and female winner from Baldwin County. There will be a school spirit trophy given to the school with the most participants. Registration is $5. Shirts also will be sold for $15.

“It has really evolved into a large road race,” said Bill Massee, Baldwin County sheriff. “We have tremendous participation. We hope we have pretty weather and a large turnout.”

The event is being co-chaired by Catherine Dean, of the Milledgeville Junior Woman’s Club and Det. James McCue of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. Dean said approximately 500 people attended the event in 2003.

“The race not only honors the memory of Deputy Will Robinson, but it also funds a lot of great community programs,” Dean said. “That includes D.A.R.E. and the new gang program (Gang Resistance Education and Training), and it does a major contribution to Georgia Military College Will Robinson Scholarship as well.”

The money left over goes to projects the Milledgeville Junior Woman’s Club does throughout the year.

“This past year we did care packages for soldiers in Iraq,” Dean said. “We’ve made monetary donations to a lot of local organizations. We’ve given scholarships to underprivileged children to go to Allied Art’s summer camp. We’ve also assisted the S.A.F.E. (Successful Avenue for Family Enrichment) program ran by the solicitor general’s office for domestic violence. The rest of the money goes to various projects. One hundred percent of the money is used for charitable giving.”

Payton Towns III can be reached at (478) 453-1456 or by e-mail at newsroom@unionrecorder.com

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