FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Adel, Georgia, June 4, 2017 — Dwight Griner of Berrien County, Georgia won for the fifth time. A dozen other boats received prizes, as a record number of people paddled in the Fifth Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, April 29, 2017. Tifton and Tift County had the most paddlers, but the awards show more boats from Moultrie and Colquitt County. Lowndes had the second most paddlers, and there were two people each from Cook and from far-away Houston and Harris Counties, and one from Thomas County.
This year’s BLRPR included three popular new attractions:
- Lunch grilled on the spot
- A silent auction
- A kayak raffle
Perhaps the food was the most popular, since everyone was hungry after racing (or leisurely paddling) down the beautiful blackwater Little River beneath cypress and pines in the springtime.
These pictures show the start at Red Roberts Landing in Cook County on the Little River and the finish at the Colquitt County landing on the lake in Reed Bingham State Park, Georgia (there are many more pictures on the WWALS website. WWALS thanks everyone for helping educate the public about our fabulous rivers and conserve them for everyone to use.
This was an all-hands-on-deck event for WWALS: every board member and many others too numerous to mention helped in some way, and of course Friends of Reed Bingham (FORB) and the park rangers at Reed Bingham State Park.
Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman said,
“In addition to thanking the most important people, those who paddled, I would especially like to call out the BLRPR mastermind, Bret Wagenhorst; the president of FORB, Diane Walters; and Phil Hubbard, who was involved in more ways than almost anyone else. And of course the Sponsors, several of whom contributed items for the silent auction:”
- Cook Family Wellness Center & Convenient Care Clinic
- Phil Hubbard
- Dr. Bret Wagenhorst, eye M.D.
- Wilson Eye Center
- Wild Adventures Theme Park
- Academy Sports
- South Georgia Pecan
- The Potters
Many people bought tickets for the kayak raffle. You can still get your raffle tickets online. The drawing will be at the WWALS Annual Meeting, 7PM Wednesday July 12, 2017, in Valdosta, GA. You do not have to be present to win, but you will be responsible for picking up the kayak if you win.
Table of Paddlers and Winners
Place | Time | Name | Category | Award | City | County | State |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 40:38 | Dwight Griner | solo M kayak | overall | West Berrien | Berrien | GA |
2. | 45:47 | Jay York | solo M kayak | 1st SMK | Adel | Cook | GA |
3. | 48:17 | Phil Hubbard | solo M kayak | Valdosta | Lowndes | GA | |
4. | 48:32 | Tom Potter | solo M kayak | Valdosta | Lowndes | GA | |
5. | 49:53 | Tim Robinson | solo M kayak | Moultrie | Colquitt | GA | |
6. | 58:30 | Ray Cummings | solo M canoe | 1st SMC | Moultrie | Colquitt | GA |
7. | 58:55 | Beatriz Potter | solo F kayak | 1st SFK | Valdosta | Lowndes | GA |
8. | 58:56 | Nikki York | solo F kayak | Adel | Cook | GA | |
9. | 59:09 | Jessica Brumfield & Kirby Smith | MF tandem kayak | 1st MFTK | Moultrie | Colquitt | GA |
10. | 1:01:50 | Dan Phillips | solo M kayak | Hahira | Lowndes | GA | |
11. | 1:02:50 | Wes Hubbard | solo M kayak | Valdosta | Lowndes | GA | |
12. | 1:06:50 | Woody Weeks & Anthony Weeks | MM tandem kayak | 1st MTK | Moultrie | Colquitt | GA |
?. | 1:08:40 | F olive kayak pink shirt | solo F kayak | ? | ? | ? | |
13. | 1:09:45 | Marco Hur & Michael Magat | MM tandem kayak | Moultrie | Colquitt | GA | |
14. | 1:11:37 | Ray and Patty Barber | MF tandem canoe | 1st MFTC | Tifton | Tift | GA |
15. | 1:13:38 | Kelly Dekle & Paul Horst | MF tandem kayak | Tifton | Tift | GA | |
16. | 1:14:23 | Winfred Dowdy | solo M kayak | Valdosta | Lowndes | GA | |
17. | 1:14:33 | Michasia Dowdy | solo F kayak | Valdosta | Lowndes | GA | |
18. | 1:15:21 | Glen & Mary Harris | MF tandem canoe | Tifton | Tift | GA | |
?. | 1:16:28 | M olive kayak blue shirt | solo M kayak | ? | ? | ? | |
?. | 1:16:45 | F blue kayak black shirt | solo F kayak | ? | ? | ? | |
?. | 1:17:07 | M yellow orange kayak black shirt | solo M kayak | ? | ? | ? | |
19. | 1:18:42 | Judy Shiflett & Lily Robinson | FF tandem kayak | 1st FTK | Tifton | Tift | GA |
20. | 1:18:52 | Megan Robinson | solo F kayak | Tifton | Tift | GA | |
21. | 1:19:52 | Carrie Vickers | solo F kayak | Tifton | Tift | GA | |
22. | 1:19:59 | Brentley Yamnitz | solo F kayak | Tifton | Tift | GA | |
23. | 1:21:20 | Karen & Tom Johnson | MF tandem canoe | farthest | Pine Mtn | Harris | GA |
24. | 1:21:40 | John S. Quarterman | solo M kayak | Hahira | Lowndes | GA | |
25. | 1:22:55 | Alton Burns | solo M canoe | Coolidge | Thomas | GA | |
26. | 1:23:10 | Scott James & girls | MFF 3P canoe | 1st 3C | Valdosta | Lowndes | GA |
27. | 1:23:26 | Kailey James | solo F kayak | Valdosta | Lowndes | GA | |
28. | 1:27:02 | Jaree Bush | solo F kayak | youngest | Lake Park | Lowndes | GA |
29. | 1:27:11 | Dallas Bush | solo M kayak | Lake Park | Lowndes | GA | |
30. | 1:31:26 | Sam & Sherri Wright | MF tandem canoe | Tifton | Tift | GA | |
31. | 1:32:28 | Presley & Ashley Vickers | MF tandem kayak | Tifton | Tift | GA | |
32. | 1:32:15 | Laura Kate Wright | solo F kayak | Tifton | Tift | GA | |
33. | 1:32:45 | Larry, Alex, Amber Ogden | MMF 3P canoe | Valdosta | Lowndes | GA | |
34. | 1:32:35 | Luke and Colt Key | MM tandem canoe | 1st MMTC | Moultrie | Colquitt | GA |
35. | 1:34:17 | Gonzalo Olguin | solo M kayak | Omega | Tift | GA | |
36. | 1:56:39 | Randy Wall | solo M kayak | Warner Robins | Houston | GA | |
37. | 1:56:58 | Tracey Wall | solo F kayak | Warner Robins | Houston | GA | |
38. | 2:??:?? | James & Jerry Walker | MF tandem canoe | slowest & oldest | Tifton | Tift | GA |
Totals |
31 M 23 F |
12 SMK 10 SFK 5 MFTC 3 MFTK 2 3C 2 SMC 2 MMTK 1 MMTC 1 FFTK |
4 Moultrie 3 Tifton 2 Valdosta 1 West Berrien 1 Pine Mtn 1 Adel 1 Lake Park 4 Colquitt Co. 3 Tift Co. 3 Lowndes Co. 1 Cook Co. 1 Berrien Co. 1 Harris Co. |
18 Tifton 13 Valdosta 10 Moultrie 2 Hahira 2 Adel 2 Pine Mtn 2 Warner Robins 2 Lake Park 1 Omega 1 West Berrien 1 Coolidge |
19 Tift 17 Lowndes 10 Colquitt 2 Harris 2 Cook 2 Houston 1 Thomas 1 Berrien |
54 GA |
#? marks a paddler who was not registered in the race. Register next time and you’ll have a chance to win while helping even more!
Curiously there were no entrants from Berrien or Brooks or Lanier Counties, Georgia, and none from Florida. Looks like WWALS also needs to hold a paddle race on the Suwannee River in Florida. Maybe we’ll do that this fall.
About WWALS
WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS) advocates for conservation and stewardship of the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, and Suwannee River watersheds in south Georgia and north Florida through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities. John S. Quarterman is the Suwannee Riverkeeper®, which is a staff position and a project of WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) as the Member of the Waterkeeper® Alliance for the Suwannee River basin. WWALS is a 501(c)(3) educational charity.
Contact:
Bret Wagenhorst
229-392-5513
WWALS Watershed Coalition
P.O. Box 88
Hahira, GA 31632
wwalswatershed@gmail.com
850-290-2350
www.wwals.net
John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper
contact@suwanneeriverkeeper.org
229-242-0102
suwanneeeriverkeeper.org
===
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
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