Thanksgiving Happenings

Once again...bad blogger about writing blog posts.  Here it is Christmas and I am just now writing about Thanksgiving. :/  #naughtylist

Over thanksgiving weekend I stayed at my parents’ house and hung out with my family.  On thanksgiving we did what we usually do, invite everyone over for food and we heat the pool for the kids to swim.  I had volunteered to help Downtown at the GRB to serve food to the homeless and less fortunate people of Houston.

City Wide Club hosted over 20,000 people this year for Thanksgiving at the George R. Brown Convention Center.  I helped out in the women’s clothing department helping find clothes they would want.  We organized everything by size and the women would come to the table and choose items.  Some of the clothes were really nice but some had holes in it.  There were a few teenagers that needed clothes.  There weren’t many options so we helped them shop.  We would go over the table to see what a teenager would want and then hold it up.  One of the girls I could tell if she didn’t like something, she would just shake her head yes (because she thought she had to take it but she didn’t have to) but when we found something she loved her face would LIGHT UP.  It was really fun to watch.  I liked helping people find clothes that they liked, not necessarily what was only available in their size.  I know that some kids get embarrassed with their clothes, but I tried to make sure they liked what they got!

Afterwards I went to my parents for Thanksgiving.  Everyone had already eaten but the time I got there (about 1:30) so I just sat outside and talked to everyone while they watched the kids in the pool.  It's a tradition that my parents heat the pool for Thanksgiving and Easter.  

I knew I would be late since I would be volunteering, so I told my parents to have everyone eat without me. Then we got out the sales ads and starting mapping out our plan of attack. :)

That night my sister and I went shopping (yes, we are THOSE people who shopped on Thanksgiving Day).  We hit up Palais Royal, Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl’s.  We had a scratch off for Palais Royal that we held up to the light and figured that we would get  $10 free.  While we were shopping there I went to the jewelry counter and there was an extra add sitting on the cabinet so I grabbed it.  It was worth $20 when I held it up to the light.  YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought some items with the $20 and Laura got something for our mom with the $10 one.  I had wanted some present bow Christmas earrings but couldn’t find them anywhere.  As luck would have it, I found them at Palais Royal and used my coupon.  I got two notebooks and my earrings for $26 ($6 after my $20 coupon).  Success.

We went to Kohl’s next with the $15 in Kohl’s Bucks for every $50 you spend. We are getting my mom a SURPRISE so I can’t say but it was on sale for $119 everywhere (you can probably figure it out).  My younger sister, Tori, gets a 20% discount at her work but we decided that the Kohl’s Bucks was worth it instead.  Plus I bought an extra SURPRISE items for myself so plus a present for Kali making we get $75 in Kohl’s bucks!  I have already spent it on a pair of yoga pants, three wall organizers, and a snowman scarf (that I have received a surprisingly lot of compliments on).

That was my Thanksgiving, how was yours?!

Rodeo Houston

It’s Rodeo time in Houston!  Tonight is my last night volunteering for my committee and boy am I tired.  The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has over 31,000 volunteers that spend their free time helping to raise money for scholarships.  This is my second year on as a volunteer and it is very rewarding.  All committees raise money for scholarships, but my committee also does good in another way.  We are the Special Children’s Committee and we take special needs adults and children around the rodeo and also 3 concerts.  I love seeing the children’s face light up when they dance or when they see their favorite animal.  

I have gone a few times with friends and family to the rodeo and I wanted to include some pictures!  We have one more concert to work (tonight, Dierk's Bentley) and then we have a committee party.  I am tired (it's Monday!) so I might not make it to the party. I am getting old. LOL. :)

Centerpieces for Rodeo Week at work that I helped coordinate

Centerpiece #2 for Rodeo Week at work that I helped coordinate

SCC bandana that everyone has to wear

I love this flower box art!  Students compete in a competition during the rodeo and this is one of the entries

Me and Cole!  I am not exactly sure what happened to my camera phone.  I think it was just the sun.

Rainy day at the carnival.  Sad carnival.

My tomato was in the shape of a heart!  Does this mean love is in the air?! ;)

Rodeo Bling

Me and Cole again!  We were watching the muttin' bustin' competition

Group Selfie (minus Cole)

Rodeo Houston Meeting

Last night was the last HLSR meeting (for my committee) before the Rodeo starts in March!   Our meeting started at 6:30 pm, but everyone gets there a bit early for free drinks and food!  We were able to pick up the 2015 gold committeeman badge and it is awesome looking!  It’s so shiny!

If you don’t know what the badge is for, basically it shows that you are a volunteer for the rodeo on a specific committee.  There are over 31,000 committee members and it would be hard to know who each of them are.  They give each of us a gold badge to get in to the concerts and carnival for free plus one guest.  We can sit anywhere in the arena, but if someone comes and says you are sitting in their seat, you have to move to another one.  Plus, we get a free parking pass as well.  If you are interested in signing up for a committee, let me know and I will tell you how to do it! :)

At the meeting they gave us updates on the committee, recognized members with year milestones (5, 10, 15 years, etc), and reminded us to sign up for shifts.  They also mentioned that the Houston Rodeo was on track to sell out 13 of their concerts this year!!!  There was also a person who was giving away copies of the art that was won at past years school art auctions.  I was able to take a beautiful piece of art home from the winner of the 2012 art competition.  Isn’t it beautiful??!!!  I can’t wait to frame it and hang it up.  They only reprint 2,500 of each piece and mine was #15.  Pretty cool.

Are you ready for the Rodeo?????  I am!  I can’t wait to see the concerts and ride the carnival rides.  Speaking of the carnival, don’t forget to purchase half price carnival tickets NOW (GO HERE).

Take 2: Volunteering at IMTX

Last Saturday was Ironman Texas in the Woodlands.  Last year I volunteered at the finish line, but this year I wanted to volunteer on the course to support the runners, not just the ones to were finishing.

For those who don't know, Ironman kicks off at 7 am sharp.  The participants have 17 hours to complete a 140.6 mile course of swimming, biking, and running.  2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles on a bike, and a full 26.2 marathon of running.  Yikes!!!

My friend Katie does a boot camp twice a week that all the dues money goes towards a non profit that raises money for various non profits.  The manager of that non profit signed up to be the captain of aid station #3 on the run course.  I signed up a few months ago when they were just starting to get volunteers.  Our aid station had tons food and drinks that the runners could have on each of the 3 laps of the course.

My shift started at 2:30, but the traffic was so bad that I didn't get there until about 2:40 pm.  My friend Katie and Michelle were both working that day too, so I just found them and started working at their station.  At first I was helping put ice in cups for the runners, but then moved to the drink Perform station.

Our station had:
Cold sponges (a pool of ice and water was keeping them cool)
Ice
Water
Perform
Gu gel
Gu Chomps
Bananas
Salty chips (I think they were plain potato chip kind)
Bananas
Watermelon
Bonk Bites (no one wanted these! :/ )
Pretzels (those went fast)
Oranges
licorice
Broth (after it was dark)
and maybe other stuff, but I wasn't at the food station.  I only remember what I heard them say

My old running coach, Alain, was completing the Ironman that day, so we were on the lookout for him (Matt and Aly were at the same station too) and we all cheered him on when he came by our station.  He looked like he was hurting, but kept moving and finished!

I ended up staying past 6:30 when my shift ended.  Dawn (the captain) needed more people and asked if I could stay longer.  I told her I could stay until about 9 pm when I had to go back to the IAA fundraiser to help clean up.

All in all, it was a wonderful day and I was so inspired!!!  I have had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to do an Ironman, but Saturday clenched it.  I had flashbacks of mile 22ish of my marathon and I knew that I could do it if I trained.  I have to save up the $$ first though, the registration fee alone is around $700!  That doesn't include a coach, bike, shoes, etc.  Luckily, the IMTX course is in my town so I wouldn't have to worry about the travel costs that some do.  Last year I was inspired, but this year it was clenched that I want to do one!!!!!

Watch this video, you will be inspired too.

Planning a Color Run and Raffle

This is take 2 of the How to Plan a 5K fundraiser post from a few years ago.  The 2014 Driving Jacks 5K and raffle raised just over $8,000 via a color run and raffle.  These are a few things we did to make our color run and raffle successful. 

Note:  This is a supplemental post on how to plan the Color Run and Raffle portion of the 5K.  If you want to know how to plan a 5K in general, go to the post above. ^^^^^^

Edit:  I have now created an entire website about planning a 5K and also ebook with forms, spreadsheets and sponsor packets.  Go to www.HowtoPlana5K.com to purchase the ebook to have access to the forms we used (including a bonus section about creating color runs)

A few other changes for the 2014 race
1.  We had three categories this year:  A timed 5K (not typical at color runs, but added participants), a non-timed 5K, and a Sleep In and Hit Snooze Option-best idea ever!  These are the people who wanted to donate to the 5K, but couldn't make it that day.  We mailed them their official 5K shirt after the race.  The price was the same as the color run ($20).

2.  The volunteers had tie-dye shirts this year instead of purple ones.  They also had to sell at least $30 in raffle tickets to get a tie-dye shirt.

3.  We changed the route up this year and people loved it!  The same route each year gets boring, this year it went through the azalea trail at SFA.

4.  Social media-this year we created a FB page for people to "like".  In the past, we have always created events on FB, this time we created an actual page.  Go here to like us! :)

5.  We had a sign for the participants to take pictures in front of that was donated. Loved it!

Color Run F.A.Q.

Did you need a lot of volunteers?
We planned the 5K the exact same way as a regular 5K, but instead of needing volunteers for a water station only, we needed them for throwing color on the patrons.  We had about 6-7 volunteers at each station, and two stations had 1-2 people at the water stops (just before the participants got to the color station).

Edit:  I have now created an entire website about planning a 5K and also ebook with forms, spreadsheets and sponsor packets. 

Can we make the color?
Well, we started to make it, but that was a disaster!  While it was drying, it got mold on it and we couldn't use it.  Making your own is MUCH cheaper, but you have to do it correctly, or it will be a waste of time/money.  To give you an idea, to make 150 lbs of color powder, it would have been $100, but to buy it, it cost us $675.  I am not 100% sure why ours didn't turn out, but I think it had something to do with the water/food color/powder consistency and/or that we stored it in a garage.  If you do make it, I would suggest leaving it in a temperature controlled room without a lot of moisture to avoid the mold growth like ours had.  Also, when we did make it, we went to a food supplier and bought 50 lb bags of corn starch and then added water/food coloring.  You can buy corn starch at Wal-Mart for $1/lb, but we got ours for $20/50 lbs-see a difference?  Make a small batch before you decide if it is worth your time and effort.  We watched a Youtube video on how to make it.

So, where did you buy the color then?
We bought ours through Chameleon Colors.  They were nice, professional, and shipped it to us in a short amount of time.  They already have boxes of it made, so we didn't have to wait.

How much color do we need?
We had about a lb per participant.  I researched it and it said anywhere from 1-2 lbs per person.  We found that 1 lb was plenty for all of participants and we even had some left over!  We had a 25 lb unopened box and a little bit of other color as well that we used for the fight at the end.

Did you have a fight at the end?
Yes, in the registration packets we gave all the participants a snack size ziplock bag of color.  Plus, we had the leftover color from the color station in a pile in the middle.  There was a HUGE cloud of color.  Some runs have a color cannon, but we just had them throw it at each other in a 'fight'.

Did you give your participants some in a goodie bag?
Yes, we made snack size ziplock bags of color and gave it to the participants in their goodie bag.  They sell color packs where you can buy them already pre-made, but we decided that we didn't need to buy them.  They were 'fancy' and we were a small race that didn't need all of that.  We added about a handful or two to each ziplock.

Did the color come out of the shirts?
We had a info sheet on how to get rid of the color that we put in their participant bags.  I just googled how to get the color out and typed it up in word.  I am not sure if it came out, I stayed away from all that color! :)

Was the cleanup bad?
We had four color stations, 1 was easy, 2 were ok, and 1 was a nightmare.  3 of them we put a plastic tarp down to minimize the mess.  We got a roll of it at Home Depot for around $20.  We laid it down on the ground and duct taped it.  The volunteers were on each side, throwing the color.  It helped the mess A LOT!  At the first stop we were able to use a leaf blower to clean up and it was a breeze.  The next two had a few patches that we poured water on, but the last stop was a disaster. They didn't have a plastic sheet down and the color was everywhere!  I know that if we didn't have a sheet down on all of them, it would have been a lot worse.  We used the left over water from the water station buckets to clean it up, and then refilled them instead of lugging around a water hose.  We also had a push broom to help clean up.

What supplies did you buy specifically for the color portion of the race?
We bought plastic sheet roll that is super thin (sort of like those restaurant glove material) to keep the mess minimized.  We also bought squeeze bottles (6 for $5 at Sam's) to throw the color and a push broom for clean up (we actually borrowed that).  Plus the color too.

Did you have a timed start?
Most color runs do not have a timing system, they just say start and you finish when you finish.  I am a runner myself (and love giving out awards) and we figured we would get  lot of registrations having both a timed and non-timed race.  It was an added expense $800, but it worked out.

Where did you get the awards?
OMG!  Aren't they awesome?  I wanted something custom made this year, so I looked on Etsy and found a seller that makes custom awards.  His name is John and his site is called I Love Geocaching and he is AWESOME to work with. We got them in the shape of Texas and there is a cutout heart where Nacogdoches is, plus our logo.  I added a lime green ribbon to make them into ornaments.  We also used Crown Trophy to make some plaques for us for the overall winners.

Did everyone wear the same shirt?
We had the participants wear their white participant shirt (or any white shirt they wanted), but the volunteers had tie-dye shirts to wear.  We bought the shirts directly from the manufacture since it would cost about double for the screen printing company to provide them.

Edit:  I have now created an entire website about planning a 5K and also ebook with forms, spreadsheets and sponsor packets. 

Raffle F.A.Q.'s
How many raffle items did you have?
I believe it was around 44.

How did you get raffle items?
We made a list of the people we wanted to donate and then sent them a letter telling them about Driving Jacks and asked for the donation.  We mailed/dropped off/emailed about 140 requests and got back about 50 raffle donations plus sponsors.  A lot of them were people we knew that wanted to donate and who had businesses or worked at businesses.  People to ask are friends to sell items (like Mary Kay, Scentsy, etc), sports teams, tourist attractions in the area, restaurants, etc.

Who did you sell to?
Everyone!  We ran out of time, otherwise we would have set up a table at a grocery store or Walmart type store.  We mainly sold them to our friends and family.  I personally sold about $400 in tickets, the top person sold almost $700.  I tried to post about it on my personal FB page about once a week.

How many people sold raffle tickets?
Ummmm.  About 30?  I am not sure, but that sounds about right.

What were you 'big' items or top prizes?
An Apple iPad (donated) and a GoPro Camera (bought)

Where did you keep the tickets?
We had a raffle drum that I borrowed from my stepmom. I didn't want to buy one just for this event, but I am glad we had one.  I think you can get them for about $100 online, but a lot of elementary schools or car dealerships have them-ask if you can borrow one.

Did you give your top sellers any prizes?
We purchased three gift cards for the top two in sales ($50 and $25) and one random winner ($25). In order to be in the contest, you had to sell over $30 in tickets.

Who drew the winners?
We had someone who did not buy  tickets or sell tickets draw the names.  I didn't want someone to think it was rigged or anything, so we chose someone who didn't have anything to do with the tickets.  We also recorded it for anyone to see (just in case).

Where and when did you host the raffle?
The drawing was held at 11 am the day of the race.  We had time to finish cleaning up and then head to the office to draw.  I didn't want to lug all the prizes to the start/finish area and then worry about the wind and stuff.  It was easier to keep it all in one place.

What did you tickets say?
The State of TX is very specific about what needs to be on the tickets, I'm sure other states do as well.  I would check what your state requires.  Our tickets had our name, date and time of raffle, address, official rules, and the prize listing on one section.

Were you able to get ahold or everyone?
Yep!  We just called the number on the slip.  We did leave some voicemails, but they called back right away.  You always call back quickly when you win something!  It also helps to call everyone, leave messages if you have to, and then go back to the ones who you left messages for.  If they see a number a few times, they figure it is someone important.

Did you buy any raffle prizes?
We only bought one item, the GoPro Camera, all others were donated.  We needed to get the tickets printed and at that time we only had one 'big' item donated, so we voted to buy the other big item.  Some organizations buy all of their big items, but we only needed to buy one.

How much did you end up making from the raffle?
I am not sure the exact totals for the raffle.  We had sponsorships and registration fees to add up, but then expenses. It's hard to tell.  I do believe that without the raffle, we would have had a lot less profit, probably only about $3,000-$4,000 instead of $8,000.  (that could be bad math though!)

Where did you buy the raffle tickets?  Did you make them?
I got them online through a printer.  We order 4,000 of them and sold probably about 2,500-3,000. I don't have the exact totals in front of me.  We spent (with shipping) about $175 on the tickets.  I didn't want to print them ourselves because by the time we created them, bought the paper and ink, etc., we would have just spent that time on something else.  It is an expense, but worth it.

Edit:  I have now created an entire website about planning a 5K and also ebook with forms, spreadsheets and sponsor packets. 

Top Hands Horse Show

This past Saturday was the HLSR's Top Hands Horse Show and I was lucky enough to volunteer for it!  I am on the Special Children's Committee and we help put on the event for the kids. 

The Top Hand Hands Horse Show is for mentally and physically handicapped kids/adults, where they get to participate in rodeo events.  As part of their therapy, many children go to horse camps and ride horses.  Once a year, they participate in the Top Hands Horse Show to win awards.  They go at their own pace, with helpers walking along side of them. 

My scheduled volunteer time was from 7 am - 1 pm, but I ended up staying all day and left around 8:30 pm.  I stayed in the hospitality suite most of the time helping to ensure all snacks and drinks were stocked and also helping to serve lunch and dinner.  I got to wear my new badge holder!  It's is pretty, so full of bling! :)

The kids would come in to get drinks and show us their awards, it was so cute!  They were very proud of their awards, and for many of them it was their first award ever!  The first place winners got a cool belt buckle and the other winners either got this cool trophy (below) or a ribbon.

It was a great day and I am glad I was able to be a part of it.  I have several other  nights I have to volunteer and I cannot wait til they come!  We have a day tour scheduled and three concerts that I will be working.  More to come!

Volunteering at the Houston Marathon

Last year running the Houston Marathon was great, but this year I knew I wouldn't be running in it, so I decided to volunteer!  I had several friends doing both the marathon and half marathon, but more on the half marathon.  I felt more led to volunteer on the marathon course though, since the volunteers really helped me last year when I was at the end of my rope on mile 20.

I was able to sign up early (I think back in November) for the mile 21.5 water station.  We had to be there at 7 am to set up the station, but I ended up being there at 6:45 am since I didn't know what the traffic and road closures would be like.

At first I thought I would be the only person (besides the captain's) over 21, but then some mom's came and we became friends!  There were two groups of students that were volunteering with us for volunteer hours.  I would say there were about 40-50 of us.

They gave us all free t-shirts to wear on the course and if you signed up early enough, you could get a free rain jacket as well (didn't get a pic of it).

We set up the water stations with cups of water that were stacked 4 deep.  Would would fill up the water on the table, add a piece of cardboard, and then add more cups.

We were ready to go by the time the top finishers came by.  The men seemed like they were waaaaay ahead of the women, but it was probably about 5-10 minutes.  I didn't count the time difference though.  Both the top men and women groups had a police escort and video escort filming the race.  It was pretty cool!

Then the masses came!  We were handing out tons of water, I think the captain said over 20,000 gallons!  What's funny/gross is that the water they were giving out came straight out of the fire hydrant!  Yep!  We lined trash cans with restaurant trash bags and filled them up with fire hydrant water.  We were handing the cups out when I realized that they were having to walk a long way to get them so I stayed behind the table to manage the layers of cups.  Once a layer of water cups were almost all gone, I would move them down and remove the cardboard.  Everyone was thanking me for looking ahead and doing that so they could focus on handing out the water, otherwise they would have to do that plus hand out the water and it was too much with the large crowds.  I know it sounds kind of dumb (typing it does, LOL), but they honestly were so happy that they could be more efficient. There were also a few cups that weren't filled all the way, and I would fill them to the correct level so they wouldn't have to do it.

I only saw one friend (way to go Debra for your Boston qualification!!) on the course, but I missed about 4 others! :/  That's ok because I was able to encourage lots of people by saying their name and cheering for them!! I even gave two hugs to random strangers that looked like they needed it.  I said, "You look like you need a hug" and they both said yes. LOL.  I'm glad I could encourage them and everyone else! :)

At the end of the race, the trucks came by to pick up stuff and let us know we could clean up.  They made people get off the course and walk along the side walk since they wouldn't be finishing in time.  It was so sad!!  These poor people made it to mile 21.5 and were forced to get off the course, they walked with their heads down and looked so defeated.  I felt so bad for them.

After we were free to go, I went out to lunch with Krista and her mom Ginger.  Who celebrated their 4th and 3rd half marathon finishes!!  Krista's aunt Terry was supposed to run too, but she opted out because she was sick.  It was a fun lunch and a fun day.  I had a sunburn over the next few days on my face.  Ooops!

Volunteering at Ironman Texas 2013

On Saturday I traveled to the Woodlands to volunteer at the Ironman Texas 2013 finish line.  I originally wanted to be at the finish line when my friend Debra crossed, but she was injured about a month ago so she was not able to race this weekend.  I had so much fun volunteering that I might make it a yearly event…unless of course I decide to actually get off my booty and complete one myself! :) hahahaha.

My shift was from 1:30-5:30 pm to catch the athletes when they cross the finish line.  I had the hardest time parking so I was afraid that I would be late to my shift, but I got there right on time.  We got a free shirt when we checked in, and then we just all sort of hung out for a bit.   They gave us instructions on what to do, then let us take a break for about 45 minutes.  We hadn’t done anything to take a break from, but I think there wasn’t much for us to do so we just sort of hung out and cheered for the runners as they passed. 

At around 3 pm we all stood in line to start catching the athletes as they came in.  I was about 5 in line to catch someone, but there were 6 people that were designated to catch the top finishers out of the male and females.  Someone in the top 5 of each category would be drug tested for illegal substances, but the top 5 didn’t know which one would be picked.  So whatever the special catcher’s numbered athelete was, they would stand in line ahead of us to take them directly to get tested.   I’m sure the #1 person is always tested (both male and female) but I am not sure the other numbers that were tested. 

The first finisher was a guy from Great Britain.  We kept getting updates that he was 3 miles away and 1 mile away, then he was rounding the finish shoot.  It was pretty cool seeing him cross.  I think they said it was the first time he has ever won an Ironman.  After he crossed he gave an interview and they asked him about his race and everyone was congratulating him.

While I was waiting for my first ‘catch’ I saw the first woman come across the finish line.  Her name was Rachel and she was a rockstar!  She hardly looked like she had just completed an Ironman!  After she crossed she went back and hi fived the spectators down the finishers shoot.  She seemed really sweet.  Afterwards she came back to wait for the 2^nd place female to cross and was just sitting there playing on her iphone like it was no big deal.  I would be asleep if that was me, not playing on my phone nonchantly…ROCKSTAR!! 

My first catch was a guy from Columbia named Andres who came in as the #9 male (I think that’s what his placement was), he was a professional athlete.  I walked him to get his shirt, gave him some water, made sure he was ok to walk and let him go.  He didn’t speak English very well I don’t think so I couldn’t talk to him as much as I did the others. 

I caught 6 or 7 people total during my shift.  At the end of my shift my friend Cindy and her husband came to the finish line to see if they needed any extra help.  I ended up staying with them for an extra hour before heading back to my side of town.  I had so much fun volunteering and I can’t wait to do it again!

Driving Jacks 5K Fun Run Recap

This recap is a behind the scenes recap of the Driving Jacks 5K.  My usual race recaps are from me running in events, but this is my first 5K to plan and execute so the recap is a bit different.  Enjoy!

The 5K was MONTHS of planning, WEEKS of gathering things together, DAYS of stressing ;), HOURS of enjoying, only MINUTES of running, and SECONDS between the first and second place winners!  We hope that everyone had a fantastic time and can't wait to do it all again in 2013. I loved it all (even the stressful parts...not as they were  happening, but as I am looking back on it) and I am glad that everything came together to make the event a success.

Friday:  I got up around 5:15 with a looooong list of things to accomplish before I set out for Nacogdoches at 8:00.  I tried to get as much stuff packed and ready to go before I had to leave, but I was still scrambling at the last minute.  True to myself I was running late and left around 8:20 am. :/ 

At this point in the day, after expenses we were projecting around $2,000 raised.  Little did we know there would be more blessings in store!

I had to pick up Carberry on the way (btw, Carberry is the funniest road trip companion ever!) and made it to Humble around 9:15.  I stopped to get gas and Starbucks before I got there (Starbucks gave me a free drink-go me!) so we could go straight there.  We stopped in Lufkin to pick up the Best Buy gift cards that were donated (Thank you Best Buy for being a DJ5K sponsor!) but little did we know that they were already picked up.  We made it to Nacogdoches at 11:40 and Matt had just enough time to make it to his lunch meeting.

I called the Nacogdoches DJ5K chair Courtney to see if she wanted to have lunch to finalize last minute details about the 5K.  She said yes and we went to another DJ5K sponsor: Auntie Pasta’s (we choose them because they had bread and I was starving!) for our lunch.  Yummy.  After lunch was a frenzy of last minute details and picking things up.  We headed to the grocery store to pick up the award (cookie cake) that would be given to A.C. S.P.E.A.K. for the DJ5K registration contest winner.  Afterwards we headed to the stadium to make sure we had power outlets to plug things in and see some more logistical information.  We ran into some of the committee picking up water jugs and we helped them transport them to the office.  Back at the office we finalized the details on where all of the volunteers would be assigned (on race day morning at 5:30 am I realized that I had lost this paper!) and also registered some last minute people.

That afternoon was really stormy but we needed to head to the route and finalize some details.  Matt, Chris, Courtney, and I all started in the field and walked the entire course.  We needed to know where to put the signs (which Chris had done awhile ago, but we needed to verify) and also where to have volunteers be standing for additional directions.  The rain was a light rain, but it still wasn’t fun to walk in the rain (if I would have danced I would have been able to mark something off my 30 under 30 list! Darn it! Haha). 

Around dinnertime the alumni started to get in town and as we were finalizing details and making signs we were all telling funny Driving Jacks stories.  Some of the new Driving Jacks members were listening to us and had no idea what we went through to get Driving Jacks where it was today.  It is completely different from the small organization of my time. Haha.  Oh the stories we kept to ourselves. LOL.  At 9:30 the Alumni committee was supposed to meet to talk about things and take an inventory of the things each of us were supposed to bring (Robby-bibs and safety pins, Hector-signs, gift cards, black bags, Spencer-water and bananas, me-timing chips, shirts, trophies, cupcakes, serving spoons, and more!) plus Courtney was there with last minute stuff also.  We put all of the timing chips on the bibs and about 7 of us took a trip down to the football field to make sure we knew exactly what to do in the morning.  The start line was to be at the 20 yard line on the home side of the stadium and the runners would run around the track, through the tunnel, and out to the rest of the course back to the finish line that would be at the 20 yard line on the visitor side.  Afterwards we went back to the office to finalize the timing chip system.  Some people I knew would not be able to come (but they wanted to donate to Driving Jacks anyway) so we took the off the list of people who were needed a timing chip.

Around 2 am I headed to my friend Amber’s house to get some sleep.  I set my alarm to 4:30 am so I would have time to be at the stadium by 5 am.  Well, true to my style I woke up around 4:35 since my alarm clock did not go off and was about 5 minutes late.  I am not quite sure what happened to my alarm clock (maybe it was the 2.5 hour sleep time) but I made it so that is the most important time.

Saturday morning:  Race Day!!!  What is up with it being so cold?!

It was about 5:05 am when I got to the stadium and Hector, Courtney, Matt, and Robby were already there an unloading everything.  Being the super control freak planner I am, I had already sent everyone a list of items they were in charge of the day before, morning of, during, after the 5K, items to bring, timeline of events, and a schedule to stay on.  Everyone knew their duties, with a few minor tweaks.  We unloaded the cars, set up tables, water stops, signs, awards, packet pickup, and registration all in the knick of time.  The packet pickup started at 6:30 am.  We handed out walkie talkies to the committee members, but every time I tried to use it, it didn’t work (or I did it wrong?!) so I just said to call my cell phone (it went dead by 9 am from all the calls and texts!).  I did hear that everyone had a fantastic time playing with the walkie talkies though. Haha.  Some strange things were said across those walkie talkie lines. LOL.

We had heard that people were confused as to how to get to us so we sent people up to every parking lot to direct our runners.  The timing chip guy got there around this time also to start setting up.  We needed the water stop captains (Marcus and Thomas) dropped off by 6:45 so they could start filling up the water cups while they were waiting on other volunteers.

At 7 am the other shift of volunteers were set to be arriving so we dropped them off at their various locations.  Thank goodness for Carberry because he walked the route with us and he knew exactly where we needed people to be stationed.  I think he was on North Street somewhere directing people after he dropped off the volunteers. Hector was originally supposed to speak on the mike making announcements, but he was at a water stop (I heard water stop #1 was really fun) so Robby made the 15, 10, and 5 minute countdown announcements. I was also trying to get volunteers where I needed them and was way over by the Forestry building at 5 minutes to start time.  I ran over there (so I technically did run this 5K, haha) and made it just in time to see everyone off.  The lead guy Jose was in the lead the entire time (it kept coming over the walkie talkies where he was) and was the first to finish (he is a junior in high school!).  The rest of the winners started coming in and we were handing out water bottles (donated by Whole Foods), and telling them to get fruit (bananas were donated by Whole Foods, and the fruit trays by Cotton Patch!).  

Finally it was time for door prizes and awards.  We had a list of about 20 trivia question that Spencer asked on Driving Jacks and SFA so we could hand out extra tickets.  The questions ranged from who was the DJ founder (Amy Shields), to what stadium we were in (Homer Bryce).  Mostly I could tell that the Driving Jacks members were whispering the answers into people’s ears.  Haha.  Cheaters!  I’m kidding.  Carberry did a fantastic job as M.C. for the door prizes and awards.  We gave away gift cards to Best Buy, Birraporetti's, and Auntie Pasta’s/Clear Springs.  Macy May donated a Vera Bradley purse, and we also had a $300 photo session donated by a company in Houston (I will get the name); Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers donated a gift basket.  Three SFA ceramic bowls/platters were donated as well.  I hope I mentioned everybody!  (I know that this paragraph and probably the entire blog post is filled with grammar errors, but I don't care and it's my blog!) ;)

We presented A.C.S.P.E.A.K. with the Team Registration Contest award (a cookie cake) for having 25 registrations!!!  A.C.S.P.E.A.K. is a class at Angelina College, each semester their teacher requires them to do a community service project and they chose the Driving Jacks 5K!  When I told their teacher Sabrina about the registration contest she was so excited!  She got all of her students to sign up and even some family members.  25 registrations is awesome!  A.C.S.P.E.A.K. also had a bake sale on Tuesday and Wednesday to raise extra money for Driving Jacks.  They presented us with $200!  I am sooooo proud of them!!  Sabrina and I had been talking for the past month (she is super sweet) and I was very excited to meet her.  I introduced myself to her, but it was in the middle of all of the craziness of getting everything together so I couldn’t talk as long as I would have liked (sorry Sabrina!  Congrats on winning your age group though!).  A huge thank you goes out to them for choosing us as their community service project (we hope you had fun and will do it next year!) J

Enterprise Holdings (Enterprise Rent-A-Car) also presented Driving Jacks with a check for $2,500 to go towards operations.  My friend Amber (same Amber that I stayed at her house that night to take a nap!) is the assistant manager at the Nacogdoches location and had told me they received it and that they wanted to present it to them at the 5K.  I had told the Alumni committee about it, but Garrett (the current DJ pres) didn’t know anything about it except that a surprise was to be announced at the 5K.  When Amber was presenting the award and said the amount, you should have seen Garrett’s face!  He looked so happy and like he was about to cry. LOL.  It was a great surprise.  He had kept bugging me to tell him what the surprise was but I wouldn’t, he told me thank you for keeping it a surprise.  I <3 surprises (except when they are played on me so don’t surprise me!).

Awards:

Baker Sign Co. donated all of the arrow signs for the event, as well as a big DJ5K banner.  When we announced the winner we had them take a picture next to the sign.  We had 6 age groups and the top two male/female in each age category won a medal and the overall male and female won a trophy. We only had women finishers in the 60+ category so we had extra medals (I took one home and it’s hanging in my medal holder at home!).  My friend Laura (who registered for the race and decided to volunteer instead at the finish line (did ya’ll see her?! She was a great volunteer) her husband won 2^nd place in his age group and got a medal!  Sabrina from A.C.S.P.E.A.K. also got a medal (along with a few of her students).My friend Angie’s son Dylan was the 3^rd place male in the under 18 age group and he was only 1 minute behind the 2^nd place finisher.  I can only imagine what he could do if he was to train hard and go for it at the next race.  Dylan, I can’t wait to see you at next’s years race, we want to give you a medal!!

5 out of 7 past Driving Jacks Presidents took a photo, and then we added the rest of the committee members, then all of the volunteers.  Photo filled day (and I will delete any that I do not look my best) J

After the awards ceremony was over we cleaned everything up, got the tables and signs picked up, and headed to the office.  It was about 9:45 am (it felt sooo much later…from the lack of sleep?!) My friends Erika, Oscar, and Lili were at Chick Fil-A so I stopped by and said hi to them for a few minutes and left.  I stopped at Starbucks to get a latte (Grande Caramel Iced Latte with an extra shot of espresso please) and went up to the office.  Everyone was jealous of my coffee (I didn’t tell them I was going because it would have taken forever to get all of their orders and I wanted coffee, haha!).

Courtney said that we got around 10-15 more registrations on race day and we had a total of around $700 in cash.  We totaled everything up and the preliminary numbers based on expenses we already know about (hopefully there aren’t too many surprises) were projected to be around $3,000!  One of our regular donors (who wants to be anonymous) had spoken with me earlier that morning and had agreed to match however much money we raised.  So we raised $6,000 for Driving Jacks! The $3,000 we raised will go in the endowment fund account, and the matched amount will go to Driving Jacks operations.

Around 11:30 a group of us went to eat at the Fredonia Hotel and talked about any and everything.  I was so sleepy at this point and Carberry offered to drive my car back.  We said goodbye to everyone and headed out (I ended up driving though). I dropped Carberry off and got home around 4 pm.  I fell asleep and did not get out of bed until 8 am the next morning (I need my sleep!).  It was a long, but amazing two days and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  My goal was to raise $5K from the 5k, but God exceeded my imagination and we raised $6K.  To God be the glory. :)

Thank you goes out to all of the DJ5K committee members, volunteers, participants, sponsors, and A.C.SPEAK for making this event a huge success!!!!!!!  We couldn’t have done it without all of you and we will forever be grateful for your support.  See you next year!

Who’s ready to start planning next year? Haha.  Let’s give it a few months. ;)