April 29, 2005
FAIRFAX, VA (April 29, 2005)--The seventh annual Aimee Willard 5-kilometer Fun Run/Walk, sponsored by the George Mason Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Patriot Club, was a big success raising more than $19,000 for the Aimee Willard Endowment Scholarship Fund.
The event, held on April 24th on George Mason University's Fairfax campus, attracted 250 runners from the George Mason Intercollegiate Athletics Department and the neighboring community. The race began at George Mason Stadium and run cross country through and around the fields on campus, with the finish line back on the track. An awards ceremony and picnic for all participants followed the conclusion of the race.
WJLA 7/NewsChannel 8 was a media sponsor of the event, with meteorologist Adam Caskey serving as emcee. The keynote speaker was Anne Seymour, Co-founder and Senior Advisor of the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit Justice Solutions. University President Dr. Alan Merten and lacrosse alumna Billie Sims spoke as well.
Prizes and awards were given to top runners in three categories. The top three male finishers were Elon Backer, Gary Breeden and Eric Barnes. The three top female runners were Fiana York, Ryann Holmes and Julie Monticello. The winners in the children's category were Jeff Perrine, John Larkin, Jason Aigner and Maya Rogers. The Patriot women's soccer team received an award as the Mason team raising the most money, raising more than $100 per student-athlete.
The event raises money for non-violence education while helping to bring the community together in support of victims' rights. Funds raised go to the Aimee Willard Endowment Scholarship Fund, which honors the memory of the former Patriot student-athlete. More than $120,000 has been raised over the past seven years.
Willard was a two-sport athlete at Mason, playing soccer and lacrosse. She was a member of Mason's 1993 women's soccer team that was the NCAA Division I runner-up, and she was an All-Colonial Athletic Association and regional All-America selection in women's lacrosse in 1996. Although she lost her life due to a brutal act of violence near Philadelphia in June 1996, her legacy continues to live on.
U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) was one of several sponsors for the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Oct. 28, 2000. It has popularly become known as "Aimee's Law."
Sponsors for the event include WJLA/Newschannel 8, The Connection Newspapers, Starbucks, Subway, Panera Bread, GMU Catholic Campus Ministries, Domino's Pizza, Modell's Sporting Goods, and Greg Cox (friend and fan of George Mason women's basketball), Meltzer Group Benefits, De Beer, University Sexual Assualt Services, SES-Americom, Cardinal Bank, Connelly Works, Inc., Glory Days Grill, Chipotle and California Tortilla.
