Letter to the Editor: Bike Ride, Schmidt et al - 11/21/2011

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Published on Monday, 21 November 2011 15:10

Dear Editor,

The First Annual Fit and Fun Bike Ride was held on November 12, 2011 here in Elk City. Over 140 kids from Elk City and surrounding communities braved the wind and cold to ride in this event. 

The bike ride was a free event open to all children ages 0-12 with the purpose of promoting fitness among children. The obesity and childhood diabetic rates are at an all-time high. 

The bike ride started as an idea of mom's wanting to promote fitness among local children. It was the idea to show kids that there is more to do than watch TV or play video games. We want children to know that exercise can be fun and that it is good to be active. 

It was important to us for this bike ride to be free giving all children the chance to participate. With the support of local businesses, we were able to provide each participant a free t-shirt, medal, and healthy snack. We were also able to provide helmets to children who were unable to provide their own helmet. 

Also, we had many volunteers that helped make this such a success. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors and volunteers. 

Our Gold Sponsors included: Interbank, Great Plains National Bank, First National Bank, Bank of Western Oklahoma, and Dr. Brad Whinery. 

Our Silver Sponsors included: Culver Electric, Paul Firth Pediatrics, Sides Screenprinting, and Road ID. 

Our Bronze Sponsors included: Pizza Hut, DK Interiors, Extreme Wellness, Carousel Connection, Matt's Barber Shop, Gene Smith Inc., S&T Oilfield Company, Hutch's C-Stores, Barber-Dyson Ford Lincoln Mercury, Homeland, United, Davis Printing, Caswell Construction, TLR Well Services, Broadway Babies, Page Jewelers, Smith Family Chiropractic P.C., Nowlin Dental Clinic, Superior Fitness, and American Realty, Inc. 

A great community and great volunteers make these kinds of events a success and we sincerely thank each of you involved with this bike ride. 

Also, we would like to give a big thank you to the Elk City Police Department and the Elk City Fire Department for helping us with traffic control. 

We hope to see you all next year for the Second Annual Fit and Fun Bike Ride!

Sincerely,
Gail Schmidt, Salena Dixon, Mandy Bryant, Kaylynn Winery, and Sarah Senger