2022 Laurel Run Poster by Lexi Holmes of Jamestown High School

High School students are being invited to participate in a logo contest for the annual Laurel Memorial Run and Walk.

The logo contest is open to high school students in Chautauqua County. The student who designs the winning entry will receive a $100 gift card to a business of their choosing.

Design entries should not be too intricate, since the design needs to reproduce well on a T-shirt. Artists also are encouraged to submit original designs, rather than using artwork they find on the Internet or through other sources.

Laurel Run was started in 1997 by Wayne and Elaine Hotelling of Silver Creek. The annual event is named in honor of their oldest daughter, Laurel, who had Down syndrome. The Run/Walk seeks to raise awareness and appreciation about the achievements of people with Down syndrome and other types of disabilities.

It raises money for Filling the Gap, Inc., which works with The Resource Center to support people with disabilities and their families in Chautauqua County.

Designs must be received by Monday, April 17. Internal voting at The Resource Center and Filling the Gap will identify the finalists. The public then will have the opportunity to vote online to help determine the winning design.

Designs can be submitted to:

Laurel Run Logo Contest
c/o Filling the Gap
92 Fairmount Avenue
Jamestown, NY, 14701.

They also may be submitted electronically to kayla.bohall@fillingthegap.net. All entries become the property of Filling the Gap.

The 27th annual Laurel Memorial Run/Walk is set for July 14 and 15. The traditional Jamestown-to-Dunkirk relay run will take place Friday, July 14. The following morning in Silver Creek, there will be an 8-kilometer running race, a 5k walk, a 1k fun walk, children’s runs, and “Laurel’s Memorial Lap” (a free event that is open to anyone who has a disability).

For more information about the logo contest or the Laurel Memorial Run/Walk, call 716-661-4735.

Pictured from left are Katie Rodriguez, manager of the Kwik Fill/Red Apple location on Route 60 outside of Jamestown; Melissa Fardink, manager of the Kwik Fill/Red Apple on Foote Avenue in Jamestown; Frank Bartella, regional manager for United Refining; Kim Webb, manager of the Kwik Fill/Red Apple on Forest Avenue in Jamestown; Brian Samuelson, a member of the Laurel Memorial Run & Walk planning committee; and event founders Elaine and Wayne Hotelling.

JAMESTOWN – Area residents can show their support for people with disabilities by buying a special card at Kwik Fill.

From now through July 20, United Refining Company’s Kwik Fill and Red Apple Food Mart locations will be selling paper cards to raise money for the 22nd annual Laurel Memorial Run & Walk.

This is the 16th straight year that Laurel Run organizers have partnered with United Refining.  The cards will be sold at participating locations in Chautauqua and Erie counties in New York, and in Warren County, PA.  Customers who buy a card can write their name on it and have it displayed in the store.  The suggested donation is $1, but donations of any amount are appreciated.  Donations containers also will be set up in some locations, and people can put money in the containers if they’d prefer not to write their name on a card.

All of the money raised in Chautauqua County will go to Filling the Gap, which works with The Resource Center to improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families.  Money raised in Erie and Warren counties will be split with organizations that support people with disabilities in each of those counties.  In Erie County, proceeds from the sneaker sales will be split with The Arc of Erie County; in Warren County, money will be split with Bollinger Enterprises.

The Laurel Memorial Run & Walk Run was created by Wayne and Elaine Hotelling of Silver Creek, NY, in honor of their oldest daughter, who had Down Syndrome.  The event seeks to raise public awareness about individuals with disabilities while providing an opportunity for people with disabling conditions, and those without, to come together at a fun, family-friendly event.

Proceeds from the Laurel Memorial Run & Walk are used to be used to enhance employment\ and work training opportunities for people with disabilities.  Wayne Hotelling noted that support from the business community is essential to the success of the Laurel Memorial Run & Walk.

“Without sponsors like Red Apple and Kwik Fill, this would not be a reality,” he said.

“Even though Laurel isn’t with us this year, she’ll be in our hearts for the rest of our lives,” said Frank Bartella, regional manager at United Refining.  “We’ll carry on her legacy and continue supporting all people with disabilities.”

This year’s Laurel Memorial Run & Walk takes place July 20 and 21.  The first day consists of a relay run and a 30-mile endurance run from Jamestown to Dunkirk.  The following day in Silver Creek there will be an 8-kilometer run, a 5k fitness walk, a 1k fun walk, children’s runs, and “Laurel’s Legacy Lap,” in which people with disabilities take a lap around the track at the village ball field.  There also will be a party featuring free food, music and activities for adults and children.

For more information about Laurel Run, phone (716) 661-4735 or visit www.laurel-run.org.

Street JAM was scheduled to take place June 4 in Celoron – a departure from the traditional location in the streets of downtown Jamestown.  This would have been the 20th annual year of the tournament, which is organized by Filling the Gap, Inc.

Tournament organizer Victoria Trass Bardo said the number of teams that signed up to play would not generate the high level of competition within each age bracket that was seen in years past.

Bardo also expressed her gratitude to everyone who has played a role in the tournament’s success over the years.

For those who registered to play in the 2016 Street JAM, organizers said they will be refunding all team fees via check within two weeks.

Should you need another manner of receiving your refund, please contact Bardo at (716) 661-1477.

Plans are under way for the sixth annual Step Up for Autism celebration, to be held Saturday, September 26, in Celoron. The event is being coordinated by The Resource Center and Filling the Gap, Inc., with support from parents and village officials.

Step Up For Autism will include a 1.5-mile walk that begins and ends at The Resource Center’s Administrative Offices at 200 Dunham Avenue. Participants will walk to Lucille Ball Memorial Park on the shore of Chautauqua Lake, then return to The Resource Center for a hot-dog lunch. There also will be games, activities for adults and children (including face painting, a fire truck, bounce houses, and an identification and fingerprinting program for children and for adults with special needs), a Chinese auction, and the famous cake auction, which features cakes donated by a number of area businesses and residents.

Registration and check-in for the walk begin at 8:30 a.m., with the walk scheduled to start at about 10:30. The cake auction will begin at around noon, and the entire event should be finished by 1:00.

The entry fee is $20, and additional donations of any amount will be accepted – organizers are planning on a huge turnout. Those paying the registration fee will receive a 2015 Step Up for Autism T-shirt. T-shirts and other Step Up for Autism memorabilia will be available for sale.

There also is an opportunity for people to earn prizes for themselves by raising money online for Step Up for Autism. For more information or to create your personal fund-raising web page, visit www.firstgiving.com/trcfoundation.

In addition to the 1.5 –mile walk, the Loop the Lake Motorcycle Dice Run (formerly the Laurel Run Dice Run) will take place that day, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Riders will enjoy a trip through scenic Chautauqua County on a route that takes participants around beautiful Chautauqua Lake before returning to 200 Dunham Avenue.

The cost is $20 per driver and $30 for those with a rider. After the dice run, participants are invited to enjoy the event festivities. Prizes will be awarded to the high-rolling driver, high-rolling rider, low-rolling driver, and the low-rolling rider.

All money raised through Step Up for Autism will stay in Chautauqua County to support people on the autism spectrum and others with developmental disabilities. For more information or to register, phone 661-1477, email vicky.bardo@resourcecenter.org or visit the web site – www.stepupforautism.com.

Events will include a 1.5-mile walk that begins and ends at The Resource Center’s Administrative Offices at 200 Dunham Avenue. There also will be games, activities for adults and children (including face painting, a fire truck, bounce houses, and a balloon man), a Chinese auction, and the famous cake auction, which features cakes donated by a number of area businesses and residents.

Registration and check-in for the walk begin at 9:00 a.m., with the walk scheduled to start at about 10:15. The cake auction will begin at about noon, and the entire event should be finished by 1:00.

Money raised through Step Up for Autism also supports TRC’s Sibshops and the monthly Parents for Parents support group meetings.

In addition to raising needed money, Step Up for Autism provides an opportunity for community members to show their support for people with autism by taking part in the walk.

For more information or to register, phone 661-1057 or visit the web site – www.stepupforautism.com.

Laurel Hotelling

JAMESTOWN – Area residents are once again invited to help select the logo for this year’s Laurel Run.

Laurel Run organizers have partnered with the Dunkirk Observer to enable the online community to help choose the Laurel Run logo. Each year, area high school students are invited to submit designs for the logo.

This year’s submissions were on display at last month’s The Resource Center Expo events in Dunkirk and Jamestown. The results of voting at those two events determined 10 finalists, which have now been posted on the Observer’s web site, and people are encouraged to vote for their favorite. Online voting will be live until 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 13.

To see the designs and to cast your vote, visit extras.observertoday.com/LaurelRun/Laurel.asp.

The winning design will appear on this year’s Laurel Run T-shirts and other promotional materials. The winning artist will receive a $100 gift card.

Laurel Run seeks to raise awareness about people with disabilities. It was started in 1997 by Wayne and Elaine Hotelling of Silver Creek and is named in honor of their oldest daughter, Laurel, who has Down syndrome. Money raised through Laurel Run goes to Filling the Gap, Inc., to fund disability awareness and prevention activities; proceeds also are used to enhance employment and work training opportunities for adults with disabilities.

Laurel Run is a two-day event. The annual Jamestown-to-Dunkirk relay run will take place Friday, July 18. The following morning, an 8-kilometer race and a 5k walk takes place in Silver Creek.

For more information about Laurel Run, visit www.laurel-run.com or phone 661-4735.

Street JAM will take place on West Third Street, between Main and Monroe streets. That section of the city has been the site of the three-on-three tournament the first weekend in June for the past seven years.

The annual basketball festival has been a staple in the Jamestown area since the first tournament was held in 1997. The event attracts hundreds of teams and thousands of spectators.

The registration fee is $125 for each four-person team (three players on the court at one time, plus one substitute). People of all ages can play.

Each team is guaranteed to play three games, as each court will feature a separate mini-tournament for teams that lose their first two games.

The registration deadline is Friday, May 23. To register or for more information, go to www.jamestownstreetjam.net. People can keep up to date on the latest developments regarding the tournament via Facebook at www.facebook.com/jamestownstreetjam. For more information, call the Street JAM hoop line at 661-1477.

Money raised through Street JAM benefits people with disabilities and their families in Chautauqua County.

The 17^th annual Laurel Run celebrates the achievements of people with disabilities while at the same time driving home the message that people with disabilities can accomplish great things if given the opportunity.

Laurel Run was started in 1997 when Silver Creek resident Wayne Hotelling jogged and cycled more than 400 miles across New York State in honor of his oldest daughter, who has Down syndrome.  In 1999, relay runners set out from eight different parts of the state, and some six weeks later the eight relay legs came together in Albany for a grand finale. Laurel Run had passed through every county in the state, and more than 20,000 people participated.

Laurel Run is now an annual event that takes place in Chautauqua County, but it has retained the essence of that 1999 state-wide relay.  Each year, relay runners transport a Laurel Run flag from Jamestown to Dunkirk to officially kick off Laurel Run weekend.

The 2013 Laurel Run relay is being sponsored by Premier Consulting Associates. Proceeds from Laurel Run go to Filling the Gap, Inc., which works with The Resource Center to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

For more information or to register for Laurel Run, call 661-4735 or visit www.laurel-run.com.

From now through July 21, area residents can show their support for people with disabilities by buying paper sneakers in conjunction with the 17th annual Laurel Run.

For the 11th straight year, The Resource Center and Filling the Gap, Inc., are partnering with United Refining Company’s Kwik Fill and Red Apple Food Mart locations to sell paper sneakers.

Customers who buy a sneaker can write their name on the sneaker and have it displayed in the store.  The suggested donation is $1, but donations of any amount are appreciated.

For more information about Laurel Run, call (716) 661-4735.  Details also can be found by visiting www.laurel-run.com.