Foundation hosts Catch the Spirit 5K Walk/Run
The Harrisonville Public School Foundation and the Harrisonville High School Freshman Mentoring Program raised approximately $4,000 at the inaugural Catch the Spirit 5K Walk/Run on Saturday, September 27. Over 120 people took part in the event to benefit the Foundation and the Christina Collins Memorial Scholarship.

Winning the event was Liz (Couser) Skeenes from Tuscon, Arizona with a time of 25 minutes, 28 seconds. The overall male winner was Trent Vu of Harrisonville with a time of 27 minutes, 49 seconds.

Winners were also recognized in four age groups. In the 18 and under group, the first and second place females were Sarah Roberts and Jessica Wardlow. The male winners were Jacob Davis and Shawn Roberts.

Female first and second place winners in the 19-30 age group were Macey England and Markie England. In the same group, Grant Glover was the first place male and Matt Roberts took second.

In the 31-49 age group, first place winners were Dena Cooper, Brent Caruthers, and Scott Doss. Second place winners were Denise Davidson and Randy Knox.

In the 50+ age group, Sherry Krohn was first and Carol Millin took second. No males were entered in this group.

Royal Blue ($500) sponsors for the event included Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas City and PowerGroup. White ($100) sponsors included Allen Bank and Trust Company, Atkinson Funeral Home, Commerce Bank, DW Auto Repair, Randall and Tori England, Horizon Trophies and Awards, Edwin V. Long, DDS, Kiwanis Club of Harrisonville, Pro Turf Lawn Service, Inc., and Wildcat Car Wash – 203 Oriole.

The Foundation will use its portion of the proceeds to fund its programming including teacher grants, the Advanced Degree Teacher Initiative, and scholarships. This fall the Foundation will present over $2,500 through its Advanced Degree Teacher Initiative which reimburses district teachers for Master's degree coursework and nearly $3,000 in teacher grants. In June, the Foundation awarded $10,000 in scholarships to four-year Excellence in Academics recipients at HHS.

The Harrisonville High School Freshman Mentoring Program will use its portion of the proceeds to fund the Christina Collins Memorial Scholarship. Christina Collins was a 2006 graduate of Harrisonville High School who died in a car accident in the spring of 2007. While in high school, Collins was a member of the marching band, tutoring, the Freshman Mentoring Program, cheerleading and softball.

The Harrisonville Public School Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established to support and enhance the educational programs of the Harrisonville Cass R-IX School District. For more information on the Foundation, contact Executive Director Jill Filer at 380-2727, ext. 1244.