Clearwater Turkey Trot - Teresa Hibbard Achieva Foundation

Registration is open for the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot in Clearwater, an event made up of a timed race and two fun run/strolls. It's been around since 1979 and one of the charities it supports helps to empower those who are homeless. Achieva credit union is a sponsor and we speak with Teresa Hibbard of the Achieva Foundation about the event. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News. One of the
Tampa Bay Area's biggest holiday traditions is back this year
in Clearwater, the Turkey Trot that takes place on Thanksgiving morning,
and the presenting sponsor and partner is the achieve of
Credit Union. We have Teresa Hibbrid with the achieve A
Foundation to talk about the Turkey Trot, what people expect

(00:20):
and what's new this year. Teresa Hibbert, welcome to Beyond
the News.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Gordon, Thank you so much for having me. It is
a pleasure to be here to talk about this long
standing tradition, actually the forty seventh year of the Achieva
Clearwater Turkey Trot. So very excited to be part of
this wonderful community event and.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
As you mentioned, it goes back several decades, but they're
adding some things this year. If you could start by
talking about what's new for those who have taken part
for a long long.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Time, Absolutely happy to do so.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
Well.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
What's new is the Wednesday night pre party that used
to be held at the jodahmah Asio Field is now
going to be held at Bay Care Ballpark, which is
where the Phillies and the Thrushers play. And Achieva is
thrilled to be able to host this event and take
it to a completely new level. There'll be something for everyone,

(01:15):
so even if you're not a runner, this is going
to be a fun way to come out as a
community from five to eight pm at Bay Care Ballpark
on Wednesday the twenty sixth, the night before the race,
and be with your family and friends, see some folks
from the community. And you can also register that late

(01:35):
if you haven't already, so if you're thinking about it,
they'll be registration. There'll be all types of games, festivities
for kids, and it's just going to be a really
great evening out for everyone. So that's one of the
greatest new things is the venue and the fact that
Achieva is going to be there with all of our
folks to meet with a community as their racers are

(01:58):
coming to pick up their packets.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
As we're recording, this is going to be taking place,
hopefully pushing this out in October, so people will be
able to sign up. Then. The centerpiece, of course is
the five k run, but it's more than a race,
it's a tradition. As you mentioned. For someone who is
new to this, tell us about what they can expect
and how they can sign up and when they can
sign up.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Sure, thank you. So there are three races on the
day of the race, and can I just jump back
and say one thing that's really new and special about
the Wednesday Night because this is such a beautiful, long
standing community tradition. The other thing that Achieva wanted to
do is really make this more charitable and involve all

(02:43):
the community. And so what we're asking folks to do.
The event on Wednesday night is free. There's no charge.
Anybody can come, but if you bring a pair of
unused clean stocks, we are going to donate those to HEP,
which is the Homeless Empowerment Project. So whether you come
Wednesday night or Thursday morning, bring a pair of socks
and that's going to go to the over four hundred kids, families,

(03:04):
veterans that HTP serves every year. So didn't want to
forget that really big piece of new things that are
happening on that Wednesday. So going into Thursday, there's going
to be three races. Starts at seven o'clock in the
morning and the first race is your timed race. Those
are for your serious runners. Those are the people that
want to go out and have they're race timed because

(03:27):
they're always trying to get better as they're out running
in these events. The second is going to be the
Frank Crumb Family Fun Run, and that's really for everybody.
You're going to have kids and strollers and well behaved
animals and anybody can participate in that, no matter how
old or young you are. And then we also have

(03:50):
the Abes Place one mile, which is another race that's
a great way to get involved. And so all those
three races are going to take place. They start at seven,
you're going to be done by noon. And the other
great reason you want to do this is because it
allows you some room for extra stuffing and mashed potatoes
on Thanksgiving Day.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
Let's loop back to the charity participant, the Homeless Empowerment
Program in Clearwater. Tell us about them and what they do.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yes, absolutely, the Homeless Empowerment Program er HP has been
in the clear Water area for many, many years and
they are an organization that help families in crisis, including
kids and local veterans, by giving them safe housing, hot meals,
and clean clothes and the tools they need to get
back on their feet so they can join Society, and

(04:39):
this is a wonderful organization. You know, socks don't seem
like a big deal to you and I, but even
in Florida as we're heading into our cooler months, keeping
your feet warm and dry are really important, especially those
who may not have a home or some of those
basic clothing items. So we're really going to be happy
to do that and achieve is going to match every

(04:59):
day to double the impact for that.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
Now, if someone would like to participate or attend or
find out more about what's going on and how to
sign up, where is uh? What's your website? What's the
best place to go?

Speaker 2 (05:14):
There's two places that you can go. You can go
visit my Clearwater dot com and that's where you can
register for the race, and then you'll also find more
about achievacu dot com and that is those are the
best places to find out about the race and how
you can get involved.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Teresa Hibbert with the achieve of Foundation, thank you very
much for joining us on beyond the News.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Thank you, Gordon