Late March means one thing for the Saint John’s Track and Field team: guess whether our first meet will be indoors or outdoors. After last year’s brutal spring, Joe and I are determined to have a mostly outdoor meet. Over the past couple weeks, with the help of physical plant workers, we have spent a little time each day shoveling. As of today we have cleared the track and the hammer/discus areas. With an eye on the forecast for this weekend, we decided to move the meet to Sunday for better weather, and everyone is excited to be outside.
To be able to use the muddy throwing areas for practice, I bought some rubber overshoes for our throwers today. They take a couple of throws, slip on their overshoes to retrieve, and shovel between throws. They think this is hilarious, but it’s keeping their throwing shoes clean and dry.
After the meet this weekend, the season will speed by and we will suddenly be enjoying the easier practice days before the conference meet. Before the outdoor season zooms by, I want to give everyone a heads-up on two important dates: the track dedication and our Go Johnnies Fundraising Challenge.
Hopefully everyone has heard that Saint John’s is naming the track after Tim Miles. You’ll recall that we tried to do it last year, but the foot of snow on the track in mid-April proved hosting a meet difficult. The dedication will take place at our Meet of Saints on May 4th (fingers crossed for no snow in May). We’re hopeful to have a big turnout and I’m excited to meet many of our alumni. I can only hope having the track named after him will lead to a new Tim joke, “Hey! Get off my track!” Register here: Miles Track Naming Ceremony and Reception.
The Go Johnnies Fundraising Challenge (Go Johnnies Challenge) is starting on April 11th. Each year, alumni receive a letter co-written by Tim and I. This year, the J-Club is helping to expand the letter-drive by adding an online component and has set goals for this year’s fundraising campaign.
While the obvious goal is to raise money for the track and field/ cross country team, the overall goal of the Go Johnnies Challenge is to increase participation by shooting for 650 total donors. I think our teams can be a big part of that goal as we are hoping to have more than 75 Track/CC donors this year.
The money raised by this campaign will be used to increase the opportunities for competition trips for Cross Country/Track & Field. Last fall, the Cross Country team competed at a race in Oregon. This spring, I’ll be taking 10 students to a meet in California. These experiences often help a team bond and are treasured memories for alumni. We hope to be able to provide these experiences to more of our athletes without having to pass extra expenses on to students.
Alumni can help this initiative several ways:
Donate! As our letter campaign of previous year’s has shown, we have a loyal following of dedicated supporters. Please keep it up.
Provide a matching gift. A matching gift often motivates others to action. Consider donating $10 for every donor to the TF/CC Fund, or match funds earned on a specific day. Talk to me if you have questions about this option.
Help spread the word. The key to a successful fundraising campaign is having alumni help motivate and challenge others to donate to the program.
Become an advocate for the campaign by using social media to connect with teammates
Create create a video to share on social media why SJU Track and Cross Country was important to you and why you decided to contribute to our fundraising campaign. I’ll be creating video in the next week or two, and I’ve got a high-five for every person that makes a better fundraising video than mine.
Anything you can do to help promote this event would be greatly appreciated. This is an SJU athletics based fundraising event and all of the money raised goes to the sport you designate. Use this link to learn more about the Go Johnnies Challenge.
Regardless, of your ability to donate this year, we really hope you can join us on May 4th to celebrate Tim’s contribution to Johnnie Track and Field. And while I’m at it, feel free to stop by the stadium this Sunday for the Outdoor Home Opener or the next home meet on April 13th.