Well, another fantastic Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine is in the books, and we could not have done it without help and support from all corners of the Ohio Valley.

For me, the children’s events were a primary focus. As coordinator of the Timy Tot Trot, sponsored by WVU Medicine Children’s, I put a lot of time and effort into making sure we have plenty of ways to entertain and delight families and young children who come to run the noncompetitive race.

We offer games such as corn bag tosses and oversized checkers, bubble machines, colorful signs, balloons and decorations. We also have several volunteers who make it all come together.

Jingles the Clown was a big attraction, twisting up balloons in just about any shape a child could imagine.

Several local and regional mascots joined us as well, including the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Parrot and Pierogies, the Wheeling Nailers’ Spike and Justice the Legal Beagle from Bordas & Bordas. They were great with the kids, pausing for plenty of high-fives and photographs.

And nobody went away from our area hungry or thirsty, thanks to an incredibly generous donation from Sam’s Club in St. Clairsville. Store Manager Cathy Litchko came through for us again, provdiding fresh apples and oranges, pretzels, veggie straws, Goldfish crackers, GoGo Squeeze applesauce, Slim Jims, Gatorade, juice boxes, bottled water and more.

In fact, that contrubution was so large that we were able to re-donate a portion of it to other local organizations. The Union Local School District — which was kind enough to loan us a public address system for use on the day of our event — received the non-perishable snacks and drinks that we had left over. Those items will be used to feed children participating in summer programs and activities affiliated with the school.

The fresh produce that remained went to Belmont County Head Start to be distributed among families who have young children in the program.

Helping to fill the drawstring bags that were given to every participant were the following local businesses: McDonald’s, Chik-fil-A, Unified Bank, WVU Medicine Barnesville Hospital, Outback Steakhouse and the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Perhaps I owe my biggest “thank you” to my husband, Mike, who put up with me throughout the entire preparation process. He helped calm my nerves, suggested solutions when obstacles arose and helped me make decisions on everything from the color scheme of our decor to what games and toys to buy and even how to pack, load and unload everything.

Speaking of loading and unloading, I never would have been able to accomplish all of that labor without ssistance from him and volunteer Lenny Wittenbrook, who also works as a correspondent for The Times Leader.

Other volunteers who helped corral kiddos, prepare the Tot Trot area, distribute snacks, run sound, hand out medals and make the entire event a fun and exciting experience were Kayla Van Dyne, page designer for The Times Leader, newly retired UL teacher Sheryl Sonk and my brother and sister-in-law Larry and Marie Compston.

New this year was a warm-up area where the upbeat and energetic Jill Spangler, director of clinical nutrition for WVU Medicine Wheeling and Reynolds Memorial hospitals, led the little ones through several minutes of stretching and warming up to get them ready to run. It was a great addition to our annual lineup!

Although it is a lot of work, it also is a lot of fun. And even though I am always exhausted by the time the dust settles after the event, I am already looking ahead to next year’s race and ways to make it even better.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of the individuals and businesses that upported our effort.

Thank you all!