To the editor:

On behalf of the Brown County Community YMCA, I would like to thank all of the people and businesses that made the second annual Hilly Half held on Saturday, Nov. 11 another great success.

We had a crisp, cold, beautiful Brown County fall day. Many of the 500 runners commented that the leaves were falling like snowflakes and the views were stunning.

The entire 13.1-mile course is in Brown County State Park, beginning at the saddle barn/lower shelter and winding up Saddle Barn Road, past the Aynes House, the park office, fire tower, campground and the Nature Center. The turnaround was at Hohen Point, and racers headed back to the lower shelterhouse for the Big Woods Post-Race Party. We had a 5K and 10K option, and for both, you could opt to walk or run or both!

Thank you to Big Woods for as our presenting sponsor this year. They provided a pasta dinner for Friday night pre-race packet pickup including musical performances by Brayden Brown and Chuck Wills. They also generously provided their post-race party of the Quaff ON! Beer Truck and a free pint glass of beer to participants, pizza, and the music of Tad Armstrong & Roger Bannister and the Indiana Boys. There were fires in the shelter fireplaces and a few others in portable firepits making for a great, warming atmosphere.

Thank you to Brown County State Park staff for the firewood and use of the park for the morning. The Hilly wouldn’t be the Hilly if not in the state park!

Thank you to the Brown County Convention & Visitors Bureau for both the financial and manpower support; our social media campaign was great. Thank you to Bob Blass for the graphic designs and Facebook ads. Thank you to the Brown County Democrat for the wonderful print coverage and for featuring the Hilly Half in the winter Almanack.

Thank you to Ryan Seward for providing tables, chairs and tents for volunteers and the post-race party, and a bounce house for the Kids Fun Run.

Thank you to Brown County IGA for supplying water, granola and bananas for all race participants. Thank you to McDonald’s for race day coffee.

Thank you to Ron Gallagher for our wonderful website, hillyhalf.com.

Thank you to Daren Redman for creating our overall winner awards and to the White River Running Company in Columbus for gift certificates to winners.

Thank you to our local EMA Director Susan Armstrong; Columbus Regional Health; Corey Frost; and local fire department volunteers Michael Leavitt, Brad Reel, Jimmy Norton, Dia Goodrich, Travis Hosteller, Ryan Slutz, Nick Kelp, Aaron Hatchett, Arlan Pierce and Hunter Riebl for providing a safe environment at each water stop and on standby in UTVs. Thank you to Keith and Andrea Baker for keeping runners safe on the road.

Thank you to Quincy Robinson & Q’s Bikes for leading the runners through the course on an E-bike.

Thanks to Mike and Mitzie Salem of Good Nature Farm for use of their box truck for gear check.

Thank you to ALL of our sponsors: Big Woods, the Brown County Convention & Visitors Bureau, AIM Media Indiana, Commercial Services, Stifel Endeavor Investment Group, Columbus Regional Health, PNC Bank, Austin Insurance, Hills O’Brown Vacation Rentals, Real America LLC, Peaceful Valley Construction, Weaver Fine Furniture, ISU, the May Agency, Brown County MIBOR, Circle K, Brown County Inn, Bear Hardware, Carpenter Hills O’Brown Realty, Life is Good, Waltman Construction, IU Health, KW Findley Group, Brown County Real Estate, Brozinni’s, Nashville McDonald’s, Brown County IGA, White River Running Company, OORNJ and ROAT.

A special thank-you to the dedicated team of staff and volunteers who spent hours pulling this all together. Without each of you we wouldn’t be successful: DeAnne Weaver, Carol Zapapas, Brian Fenneman Susan Armstrong, Chris Henderson, Rex Watters, Kelly Smith, Chris Curtin and Betsy Sweeney.

This event wouldn’t have happened without the 80-plus volunteers who braved the cold on race day: Brittany Allman, Bill Bartley, Madison Bickely, Marcela Bota, Sam Bowman, Kelli Bruner, Mark Bruner, Corey Cagle, Emily Crase, Nancy Dietz, Mekenzie Dunnuck, Sue Engledow, Brian Fenneman, Darla Fenneman, Rachel Fenneman, Dawn Fergason, Gary Fergason, Adri Fonseca, Logan Frittz, Solei Garland, Sally Gindling, Laura Henderson, Deb Hildebrand, Steve Hilton, Grace Jackson, Dave Jarrett, Gracie Kaufman, Mandy Kay, Zelton Kay, Shea Keller, Tim Kelley, Debbie Kelley, Baelyn Koester, Tony Krug, Libby Kuhn, Larry Kuhn, Mike Laros, Will Leggins, Jackson McPheeters, Jessie Meranda, Buddy Mercer, Lydia Miller, Marie Mooney, Jeff Mooney, Molly Morgan, Elizabeth Moore, Molly Morgan, Betsy Parman, Dennis Parman, Clare Proctor and kids, Dustin Robinson, Bill Robinson, Quincy Robinson, Kim Robinson, Herb Ross, Carol Russell, Kristofer Sandgren, Taylor Seacat, Laura Sheckell, Phil Sitterding, John Slater, Kyle Spires, Lexi Stadler, Locke Stadler, Lucas Stadler, Lisa Stadler, Ken Umphrey, Allison Watters, Rex Watters IV, Ryan Watters, Rex Watters III, DeAnne Weaver, Rob Weaver, Carol Wilson, Alic Wilson, Lory Winford, Greg Wright, Kathy Yeager, Shelby York Carol Zapapas, Theresa Zimnawoda and John Zimnawoda.

Kim Robinson, executive director, Brown County YMCA

Send letters to [email protected] by noon Thursday before the date of intended publication (noon Wednesday on holiday weeks). Letters are the opinions of the writer. Letters must be signed by the author and include the writer’s town of residence and a contact number in case of questions. Only one letter every two weeks, per writer, to allow for diversity of voices in the opinions section. Please be considerate of sharing space with other letter-writers and keep your comments concise and to the point. Avoid name-calling, accusations of criminal activity and second- and third-hand statements of “fact.”