Area nonprofits winners despite race cancelation
Rock the Quarry raises $40,000 for Black Mountain Home for Children and Asheville Museum of Science
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
December 17, 2020
The 2019 Rock the Quarry Trail Challenge 5K & Kids Fun Run featured more than 300 runners. While the race was canceled in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers raised $40,000 for Black Mountain Home for Children and Asheville Museum of Science. Photo courtesy of Hedrick Industries
In any other year, the quarry at Grove Stone & Sand would have been rocking in September, as hundreds of runners take on trails and elevation as they race to the finish line. This year, however, COVID-19 forced organizers to cancel the 13th annual Rock the Quarry Trail Challenge 5K & Kids Fun Run, but a pair of area nonprofit organizations were still winners.
Even without the actual race in 2020, the fundraising committee of employees of Hedrick Industries, which owns and operates the quarry, collected $40,000 for Black Mountain Home for Children and the Asheville Museum of Science.
The event, which has grown every year since it began in 2007, has now raised more than $360,000 for BMH and AMOS since partnering with sponsors in 2013. Carolina CAT, Industrial Products, Industrial Supply Solutions, Inc., Colony Tire, Falken Tire and Michelin played a vital role in supporting the nonprofits despite the cancellation of the race, according to Jon Neumann, who heads the committee that organizes it every year.
“Our committee and sponsors realized that these two nonprofits could use our support in 2020 more than any other year,” said Neumann, who is joined on the committee by Joe Lordi, Jason Conner, David Shropshire and Hank Gaston. “We’re proud of our efforts and we hope that this donation spreads joy and a little bit of good news during this crazy year.”
The RTQ community was supportive of the effort, as well, contributing $2,000 to the fundraiser through the purchase of race t-shirts to benefit BMH and AMOS.
The fundraising committee anticipates a 2021 return of RTQ, which featured more than 300 participants of all ages last year.