Assisting our Friends in Western North Carolina

Many of you reading this don't live in North Carolina (home to RaceReach) or the surrounding states severely affected by Hurricane Helene. Even if you've never been to North Carolina, perhaps this can provide a new perspective regarding improbable tragedies like this that have occurred or could someday occur near you.

If you have ever driven through Western North Carolina, you've likely driven (or cycled) on a scenic road that traversed both creek side valleys and beautiful mountain tops. Sadly, many of those roads now look like the one in the picture, or are no longer identifiable as roads at all. The photo above was taken by me on Sunday, October 13, 2024, after navigating damaged state highways to arrive at flood damaged Powder Mill Creek Baptist Church, the building you see in the background. The church has become the supply and support center for much of the area, and we went there to volunteer. Meeting and working with the people affected by this devastation was humbling. Their resilience is something to behold, despite many having lost homes, property or, in some cases, friends or people they knew. Unfortunately, it will take years for most to recover, if that is even possible.

As sports leaders and enthusiasts, there exist some unique opportunities to help the people of Western NC and others recover from tragedies like this. Many of you are already helping here in North Carolina, in Florida and everywhere in between. We can also help through sports, cycling, running and more in the months and years ahead. In some cases, you are uniquely positioned to help because of who you are, what you do and the affinity you've built with your audience.

Consider the following as just one possible sports and events related way to help.

The Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the most iconic roads in North America, is a dream ride for many cyclists. The Parkway is currently closed until further notice, likely into Spring 2025. What if someone reading this could take the lead on convincing the National Park Service to allow a giant cycling event the day before the Parkway reopened to cars? It could be a massive fundraiser, with thousands of cyclists setting out in waves for hours to ride just a small portion of the "closed" Parkway. The event could begin and end in a small mountain town, celebrating the Parkway and the people of Western North Carolina. Being the event director for that ride might be the sports accomplishment of a lifetime!

While we at RaceReach don't have the resources to create and execute something like this (but apparently we can dream it up), many of you do.

This is just one of thousands of possible ideas to help through sports and events. If RaceReach can help you create and manage any type of event to assist the people of North Carolina or anywhere else, we're here and ready.

We are thankful for all of you - our sports, club and event leaders. Your sports, events and clubs have made us who we are while guiding us to what we will become.

As always, find us at help@racereach.com or 919.904.4760.

- Mark, Dave and the RaceReach Team
 
Contact: mark.luckinbill@racereach.com