The W.R.A.C.E. van lives on Ellis and Moy. I tip my imaginary hat as I walk by every day after work. Walkers and Runners Around the County of Essex, or W.R.A.C.E., is a non-profit organization that was founded by Jerry Slavik along with Dave Orshinsky back in the 80's. Jerry is reliably present at the start line of just about every track and field event in the city. He hold the starter's gun and defeats any statistics we learned about age-diminished response time in Motor Development and Learning a few years back at uni. He never misses a beat.
The organization he established raises money for local charities by hosting a series of road races throughout the year. For the past few years the crew has run a tight budget and I worry that WRACE will dissipate as more and more sanctioned and competitive road races are being hosted in the city.
Financial woes harbour the capacity of this small organization to expand their season schedule and compete with sponsored events. Still, the board of directors includes a passionate group of locals with their hearts devoted to keeping W.R.A.C.E. up and running along with its participants.
Several years ago, I took up the opportunity to work with this board. I held an executive position, acting as the W.R.A.C.E. Newsletter Editor and Communications Coordinator. It was my first dabble at writing for a real audience and resulted largely in positive feedback. While I was an adequate contributor to this organization's purpose, my work was merely a fraction of the tireless efforts of other board members.
Nearly every weekend Jerry Slavik is on the oval, ears plugged, gun in hand. The starter.
He gets to see the finish every time.
Lets just hope he doesn't see W.R.A.C.E. cross the finish line anytime soon.
