Mud, Smiles And A Lot Of Fun!

To the Editor:

The first-ever Mad Dash at Fairfield Hills last Saturday was a huge success. Newtown Youth Academy and Newtown Parks and Recreation would like to thank everyone for their help and support. The planning for this race began over a year ago and was a true team effort. The Mad Dash couldn’t have happened without a collective effort from many talented people in our community.

We would like to thank the following:

The Newtown Parks and Recreation Field Crew and Rangers, led by John Moore and especially Nelson Lopes, who were absolutely outstanding. One of our goals was to showcase the natural resource of Fairfield Hills and the skill they demonstrated building, constructing, and gathering resources for these events was unbelievable.

The Newtown Hook &Ladder, especially Ray Corbo, added the special interactive elements to the race that people absolutely loved. The firefighters’ enthusiasm and participation in this event were a hit. Mike McCarthy from Applied Rescue Technique LLC constructed our ladder excursion station with a precision that I’ve never seen before.

John Voket is an invaluable resource to this town on many levels, but his involvement and participation in events and charities in this community are second to none!

Tom Dinicola and staff from Church Hill Physical Therapy and the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance members, who all volunteered their time to assist our runners with any potential injury.

The Newtown Parks and Recreation staff, especially Amy Mangold and Rose Ann Reggiano. They took on this project and helped make it possible. Parks and Recreation is the health and wellness backbone for this community. The Newtown Youth Academy is proud of their relationship with them and hopes The Mad Dash will be the first of many projects that we do together for this community!

The Newtown Police Department, which was able to safely have our runners navigate through a maze of obstacles and street crossings.

We had countless volunteers which are too numerous to acknowledge individually. Your contributions were invaluable to the success of this event.

Multiple members of the NYA staff who truly “circled the wagons,” contributing in any and every way possible to help. A special thanks to Joanne Sherwood who was vital to the success of this event. Joanne, like so many great people in this town, does so much for others and asks for so little in return. She represents the best in all of us.

We would also like to thank our local sponsors: Danbury Orthopedics, SCB International Materials Inc., Allstate-Peter Stockwell, Gym Source, Big Buddha, One-Eyed Pig BBQ, Pepsi, Beeline-Woodworking LLC, Church Hill Physical Therapy, Holmes Fine Gardens, Newtown Florist, Berkshire Motors, 99Dollar DJ and Entertainment, and Andy Sachs/The Around Town Team/Deals Around Town.

This event was the first of its kind in Fairfield County and we look forward to making it an annual event.

See you all at Mad Dash 2013!

Thanks,

Cody Foss

Creator of Mad Dash

4 Primrose Street, Newtown                                            June 13, 2012