06/06/2019
As many of you have probably concluded, the Dutchie Dash has finished its run after 10 good years. In that time, your support and participation raised over $30,000 for the first responder services in Schaefferstown.
There are many people to thank for making it possible, most of all our sponsors.
First, the Barry family of Lebanon Farms Disposal. When the idea of a 5K benefitting fire and EMS first came about, Darin Barry, of Lebanon Farms, immediately offered to sponsor the race…forever (or as long as I wanted to be the Race Director). Darin, Chris, Joe, and Josh kept that promise and have been the best sponsors anyone could ask for. They even went further by providing a finisher's gift every single year.
Secondly, Mike and Tish Bachleda, of Bachleda Studio, have also been sponsors with the Dutchie Dash for the whole run, providing a fun, eye-catching, and ever-growing cast of characters for our shirt design. There are a couple thousand of those floating around, and they got noticed. They also kept me on my toes and on schedule year after year.
Last, but certainly not least, Bruno’s Hoagies. In addition to bringing some post-race hoagies to the Dash, early registrants enjoyed a BOGO. If you haven’t been to a Bruno’s, get there.
I owe a ton of thanks to the volunteers. There were many over the years so, at the risk of missing someone, I don’t want to try and name them all. They selflessly gave up their nice June Saturday mornings to support the runners and their community of Schaefferstown.
One more mention should be thanks to my family. They tolerated hearing about the Dutchie Dash for 3 months out of each of the last 10 years. The running of errands, the boxes of race paraphernalia in the sunroom, and my nervous irritability as race day approached, was all part of what they tolerated.
If you were a 10-year runner, thank you for your commitment, and cherish that shirt collection. If the Dutchie Dash was your first 5k, I hope you’ve had many more. If your entire family ran together, enjoy the memories. Most importantly, stay active and alive.
For me, it’s just time to commit my efforts to other things in the community. I would encourage you to do the same. This has been extremely rewarding for me. It was a lot of work but when I had the chance on race day to stop and take notice of the hundreds of people greeting each other, sharing stories, and just being what a community should be, it was all worth it. And let’s not forget that we also provided some needed funding to the fire and EMS volunteers that keep this community safe. Get out there and give a little bit of yourself.
Thank you all,
Jamie Wolgemuth
Dutchie Dash Race Director
