Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2005-10-26, Page 8!r". Page 8 October 26, 2005 • The Huron Expositor News Amazing Race raises $18,000 for United Way Mark N o a k e s GENISIZMUSIM Huron's first Amazing Race dashed throughout the county last Saturday and raised about $18,000 along the way. A mother and daughter duo with Clinton roots captured the $1,500 first place, after eight hours of chas- ing clues that tested brain and brawn. "Reflecting back it was a pretty good mix of reasoning skills and athletic ability. There was luck and frustration; disbelief and elation," said Julie Gibbings, who partnered with her daughter Erin to take first place. Melanie and Brian Buffinga took second place. The adrenaline -pumping day kicked off with a 7 a.m. start at the Maitland Recreation Centre in Goderich and teams were asked to solve a puzzle, dig in the sand and shoot basketballs before leaving town. From there, competitors contin- ued to Wingham, with stops in The Weed Man, Auburn and at a rural sawmill. In Wingham, teams donated to the CKNX's Radiothon's annual campaign and competed in tricycle races among other things. With a stop at the Blyth firefight- er training centre and a Londesboro It is the largest employer in the province. And the smallest shop in town. Small business is growing strong in Ontario... and Ontario is worldng hard to keep it that way. By raising the Small Business Income Threshold to $400,000, for instance: this simple tax exemption puts more money back in the hands of small business. And Ontario's 44 Small Business Enterprise Centres provide support to entrepreneurs across the province, every day. What's good for small business is good for all of us. Salute to Small Business 2005 To contact the Small Business Enterprise Centre nearest you, call 1-800-567-2345 or go to www.ontariocanada. corn/smallbusiness Pallor M tM Orriamrl el Mani Ontario bird store, the race rolled into Clinton mid-morning. There participants raced through an obstacle course in wheelchairs, cleaned horse stalls and washed windows at the Habitat for Humanity home. In Seaforth, contestants teed off at the local golf course before head- ing to Hensall where they tried to solve a brain teaser at Ice Culture. In Exeter, teams drove through an obstacle course, rang bells at Trivitt's Anglican Church and popped balloons at Gars' Bar and Grill. On the way to Grand Bend teams stopped in Dashwood at Hayters Turkeys for a word scramble. In Grand Bend, singers took to the stage in a karaoke performance and then were chilled as they jumped into the lake in an icy chal- lenge. In the last leg, teams milked a cow and stopped in Bayfield. Throughout the day 21 teams were eliminated and at the final destination two teams were left to race for the finish line at a Bayfield golf course. "We had a blast and I would do it again in a heartbeat," Julie Gibbings said. "Never did we undertake the notion we'd win," Gibbings said. "Living in Huron County my entire life it helped us to know the area well." Kim Payne, executive director of Huron United Way, added that a core group of over 100 voluteers were very helpful in running the race and many businesses and orga- nizations went out of their way to help by hosting challenges. "We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome of this event. The teams were totally pumped and blasted through the race. We thought we had some real stumpers, but the racers were brilliant and solved them faster than we ever imagined. One team, our clown duo Bugsy and Snippity raised a whop- ping $2104 and took the prize for most money raised." said Payne. The second annual -Huron Amazing Race is already being planned for the spring and an announcement is expected shortly about the official date. St. James racers have friendly family competition Susan H u n d e r t m a r k aiMEMOMP With a bit of friendly competition against her sister-in-law and her husband, St. James School's princi- pal Mary Brown had "a blast" com- peting in the Huron United Way's Amazing Race over the weekend. "It was a lot of fun," she said Monday, adding that coming in sev- enth overall out of 25 teams and beating both her husband's team and her sister-in-law's teams were added benefits. "It added an edge to the day that was fun," she said. St. James' French teacher Heidi Genee-Brown is Brown's sister-in- law and she was teamed up With her sister Monica Brown. And, Brown's husband Dennis or "Chopper" was competing with his friend Howard Hallam. Teamed up with her friend and fel- low principal Nancy Barrett of Wingham, Brown said the two pan- icked during the first challenge of putting together a puzzle when it seemed that everyone else was fin- ishing first. "We thought we'd be the last because the room was clearing out," she said. One of her favourite challenges was driving in reverse through an obstacle course in Exeter. "It was tough and challenging," she said. But, one of their toughest chal- lenges - which she said led to their elimination, was also in Exeter. They spent 20 minutes in a cemetery look- ing for a crypt where a husband and wife were buried, only to find that the crypt was located in a church basement. "We should have stopped and asked but we thought we were pretty smart cruising through the ceme- tery," said Brown. Genee-Brown said her favourite challenge was rescuing a baby doll in a smoke house. "I managed to beat some of the guys and that made me feel pretty good," she said. Both agreed the day was very fast - paced and filled with adrenaline. And they appreciated that the chal- lenges were both physical and men- tal. "The clues were obscure enough to be challenging but not tough enough that you couldn't figure it out," said Brown. "We'd do it again in a minute," added Genee-Brown. After all the fun, Brown confessed to aching muscles the next day. "I did more running than I've done in a long time. I found out my true age and my true fitness level and I was not impressed by either one," she laughed.