Submitted by Deborah Lavery Powers
October 5, 2015 4:00 p.m.
One evening in early February 2012, 20-year-old Ben Byrns arrived home fairly early from a party, excited about a planned offshore fishing trip the next morning. Then, according to a family friend, he “took some prescription drugs (not his) to go to sleep. He never woke up.”
Ben’s parents, Ken and Laurie Byrns, set up a foundation shortly after Ben’s death to help young adults make good choices. The Foundation sponsors the Ben Byrns 5K Rally with the hope that the Rally proceeds — which go to the Boys and Girls Club of Fernandina Beach and the Nassau Alcohol Crime Drug Abatement Coalition— will help save other young people from a drug related death, and keep their families from suffering the despair of losing them.
Messages about making good choices and avoiding drug abuse can be internalized while one is involved in a fun event, as well as during somber conversations. With this in mind, the Foundation is again sponsoring a Challenge to middle and high school students as part of the Ben Byrns 5K Rally. This is how it works:
Students sign up at their schools to participate in the Challenge — and each student earns a t-shirt as a sign-up bonus. The entry fee for the Challenge is $5.00. No need to run to participate. Walking is just fine. And you don’t have to walk as a school group. But you DO have to show up on the morning of the 10th for the 9:00 a.m. kick-off — and start your run/walk — to be counted in the tally.
And a prize of $3000 goes to the school “group” that has the largest number of participants in this year’s Challenge:
The three school groups in the 2015 Challenge are:
1. Fernandina High and Middle Schools
2. Yulee High and Middle Schools
3. Westside: West Nassau High School, Callahan Middle , and Hilliard Middle/Senior High School.
Principals, faculty, and staff may champion their students by joining in the fun. For a special $10 entry fee.
Three hundred forty (340) students participated last year. The quest is still on to see how many more will sign up this year and help their school group be the one to win that $3000 prize.
Adults who sign up for the Rally, itself, pay a $25 entry fee. Children who attend public or private schools in Nassau County — but are not eligible to participate in the Challenge — pay a $10 entry feel to run/walk in either the 1K or 5K race. Parents of those under 10 may accompany their children at no cost. However, parents need to sign a waiver at the bottom the entry form.
More details may be found at www.benbyrns.org.
Editor’s Note: After a career in adult education, where writing, course design and development were her “beat”, Deborah now enjoys the world of freelancing, and volunteering. We thank Deborah for her many contributions.