CRESTVIEW — Shoal River Middle School’s annual Annelise's Wild Mustang 5K Run/Walk begins at 9 a.m. May 18 on the Redstone Avenue campus.
Registration for participants costs $20. The first 100 participants will receive a free T-shirt. Printable registration forms are available at okaloosaschools/shoalriver.
Early registration forms are accepted 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the school's front office.
Money raised from this event will benefit the school's boys and girls track teams.
Last year's event raised nearly $2,700, principal Paul Whiddon said.
"Since I have been here, it has been very successful, which comes in handy for our boys and girls track teams,” he said.
Unlike most school sporting events, track meets do not charge for admission, which limits the program’s funding, Whiddon said.
In addition to supporting school sports, the event will honor the memory of former school employee Annelise Adams.
‘The most giving and positive person’
Adams started her career with the district as a school bus driver in 1995.
In 1998, she became the now defunct Richbourg Middle School’s attendance receptionist. She transitioned, along with other staffers, to Shoal River Middle School in 2009.
The mother of two died in 2010 from cancer.
Assistant principal Lee Martello — who worked with Adams at Richbourg and Shoal River — said she remembers Adams’ courteousness, generosity and cheerful disposition.
"She would always greet all of the students when they came in off the bus in the morning," Martello said.
"Without a doubt, Anne was the most giving and positive person I’ve known," she stated in an email. "For colleagues and co-workers, she was the pepper-haired songstress who often bounced down the hallway singing a tune on the way to complete a task."
The school continues to honor the former staffer’s memory with its Annelise Adams Butterfly Garden, a nearby green that the school uses to complement science and biology courses, Martello said.
Former Richbourg student Andrew Linares built the garden for his Eagle Scout project. Shoal River’s first graduating class paid for it.
Want to go?
Annelise's Wild Mustang 5K Run/Walk begins at 9 a.m. May 18 at Shoal River Middle School, 3200 Redstone Ave. Registration for participants costs $20.
Registration forms are at okaloosaschools.com/shoalriver.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: School’s 5K run to benefit track teams