Operation Hero, a campaign to fund Georgian College scholarships for members of military families, was launched in 2010 by a group of local business and community leaders wanting to give back to military families, and will give preference to families currently posted at CFB Borden.

Operation Hero provides members of Canadian military families with the opportunity to receive a scholarship to assist in the funding of their education at Georgian College. This scholarship will be endowed in perpetuity to support future generations.

This year Operation Hero named the first and second year scholarships in honour of Private Kevin McKay and Sapper Brian Collier.

Congratulations to the recipients for this year’s scholarship:

• Amanda MacLeod – Private Kevin Thomas McKay Memorial Scholarship (1st year scholarship)
• Stephanie Weatherbee – Sapper Brian Collier Memorial Scholarship (2nd year scholarship)

Amanda MacLeod and Stephanie Weatherbee

From the Left: Bob Kennedy, McKay Family, Amanda MacLeod, Valerie Knight, Col. Meloche, Sybil Goruk, HCol Peacock, David Zilstra, Stephanie Weatherbee, Collier Family, CPO1 Jean Denis

Base Borden Run in support of Operation Hero will be at the Run & Event Expo on Sunday October 23rd 2011!

You have the opportunity to participate in a Half Marathon, 5K or 10K run/walk. The proceeds from this race benefits Operation Hero-an endowed scholarship to support Canadian military families. Sign up today!

There will be a number of different exhibits at the Expo which will be representing a range of Ontario races and events. So why should you attend- you have the opportunity to learn about fantastic running, cycling, triathlon and adventure racing events taking place across Ontario. When visiting the booths you will have the opportunity to meet the race directors, register on-site for races, and more!

This years Expo participating groups include: Running Room, The Chiropractic Clinic, Spartan Race, Energy Armor, Trek, Georgian College Alumni Association, Clif Bar, Meridian, and The Dock.

Come visit our booth to find out more about Operation Hero and the Base Borden Run!

Great news for all you Dock listeners! 104.1 The Dock will be promoting the Base Borden Operation Hero Run!

From October 17th – October 21st 2011 each day at 7:45am, The Dock will be giving away prizes through a series of fun and exciting contests. The prizes include: a pair of race registrations, sponsored by Georgian Automotive Group as well as a Hempola gift basket  by Hempola Products.

The radio contest is a great way for listeners to learn more about the race, race participation, and create overall awareness of Operation Hero!

Operation Hero Base Borden Run 2011 Registration

Register now for the Operation Hero Base Borden Run 2011, prices go up on September 30. The race takes place on Sunday, October 23, 2011.

Start Times

• Half Marathon – 10:00 am
• 5K & 10K – 10:30 am

By KELLY MCSHANE, SPECIAL TO QMI AGENCY

As originally posted  to the internet by The Barrie Examiner

ORILLIA– “You hear about all of these people dying in the war overseas, but you don’t realize how real it is until it’s a name you recognize,” said Park Street Collegiate Institute student Sara White, who recently learned of the death of a soldier friend who was fighting in the Middle East.

“He was hit by a roadside bomb. I’m still kind of in shock because you don’t think that it’s ever really going to happen,” said the Grade 12 student, as she held back tears.

Honouring her fallen friend helped fuel White, as she and fellow students from her world issues class worked to raise funds for the families of deployed troops from Canadian Forces Base Borden.

Park Street students spent the past year organizing fundraising activities, with the money raised being collected for the Operation Hero program.

As part of the class, White said she and her classmates were given the opportunity to speak with soldiers from the front lines.

“When you see soldiers crying about the things they’ve seen, you realize what they’re really going through. What they do is amazing. I don’t think I would ever have the courage to do it,” said White.

The class recently presented representatives from CFB Borden and Georgian College with a cheque for more than $1,900, during an assembly in the school’s gymnasium.

“It’s tremendous that Park Street has stepped up to fund such an outstanding cause in our community,” said Jamie Massie, honorary colonel at CFB Borden, west of Barrie.

Founded in 2010, Operation Hero is a scholarship program established with the support of Georgian College that provides funding for the dependants of Canadian troops to enroll in any full-or part-time program at the school.

Students and staff  at Ardagh Bluffs recently celebrated the opening of the new Barrie school.

Grade 6 students, Aiden Lowrie and Carlie Garland, accepted a framed flag for their school’s efforts in supporting Operation Hero. The presentation was made during the official opening of Ardagh Bluffs Public School in Barrie.

Read more about this story here

Base Borden Run in support of Operation Hero will be at the 2011 Race& Event Expo
Saturday, April 9th
1090 Don Mills Road, Shops at Don Mills, Toronto, Ontario

Come by and meet our team and enter the draw for a chance to win your race entrance fee.  Lots of prizes to be won including dog tags, shirts and more.

On April 9th the Town Square at the Shops at Don Mills in Toronto will be transformed into the 2011 Race & Event Expo. The free event, which is being put on by Get Out There Magazine, will offer anyone with an interest in doing a race this summer the opportunity to check out the fantastic offerings available to them across the province of Ontario. Adventure races, relay events, runs, triathlons and bike races will be among the exhibits.
This is the first time the Expo is being held and will feature exhibits representing a range of Ontario races and events, free copies of Get Out There magazine, a special promotion for participants at the Salomon store (located in the Shops at Don Mills), draw prizes and a chance to take the new XR CROSSMAX shoe from Salomon for a spin!
The event is totally free and exhibits will be on display from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Here’s a map to the Shops: http://bit.ly/fPBSWj
Come visit our booth and meet the team! We hope to see you there!
Get Out There Magazine

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 will mark the second consecutive year that community members lace up to support local military families in the Base Borden Run in Support of Operation Hero.

Participants can look forward to an exciting day of activities including:

• A run through CFB Borden and training facilities
• Tech shirts & dog-tags for all participants
• Convenient Race Day kit pick-up & Registration
• Health & Fitness Expo
• Challenging course on varying terrain
• Chip timed

Experienced runners and those who prefer a slower pace can both fully take part in the event held at CFB Borden. The event includes a half marathon walk/run, a 10km walk/run, and a 5km run/walk, allowing participants to choose their own distance and pace.

To register for the run online, and learn further details about race visit:

http://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=6770

The event will enjoy added exposure to runners this year, as it is being presented at the  2011 Race and Event Expo taking place in Toronto on April 9th, a great chance to share Operation Hero event details with avid runners and newcomers interested in participating in Ontario races this year.

The endowed Georgian College scholarship fund was launched by Hon. Col. Jamie Massie, “to show the base and the members of the Canadian military that our community supports them and wanted to recognize them, and it was really out of that that our community created Operation Hero,” said Massie. “Eventually, we want to be able to award four scholarships a year between $6,000 and $8,000.

CFB Borden trains 15,000 soldiers and airmen and air-women each year, and is home to about 1,800 soldiers, sailors and airmen and women, and staff posted there. Several from the area have been deployed to war-torn areas in recent years.

CFB BORDEN – Operation Hero’s Base Borden Run was a runaway success – as preliminary figures show the inaugural run raised almost $20,000.

“We’d been hoping for $10,000,” said Barrie Construction Association administrative director Alison Smith.

A joint project with the Canadian Home Builders’ Association – Simcoe County, last Saturday’s run to raise funds for the Georgian College scholarship for military families attracted 426 participants, including about 150 who registered for the event Saturday morning.

“There were babies in strollers, puppies, all kinds of families in the five-kilometre,” she said, noting a half-marathon attracted mostly more-serious athletes and a few families.

Businesses supported the run with an array of sponsorships, as well as in-kind donations, from everything from napkins to food for the barbecue.

Volunteers came from Georgian College, as well as CFB Borden and both sponsoring associations.

Most of all, Smith said, the event built community and understanding between the military base and its neighbours.

“People loved the route. Part of it went through the streets of the base, and some of it took runners along a trail.

Launched earlier this year by Barrie businessman and CFB Borden Hon. Col. Jamie Massie, Operation Hero has already raised almost $500,000.

As Canada’s largest training base, CFB Borden trains 15,000 men and women each year and is home to about 1,800 soldiers, sailors, air force and support personnel.

Operation Hero granted its first scholarship, to nursing student Stephanie Weatherbee, on June 5, during the base’s Canadian Forces Day and Air Show celebrations.

lwatt@simcoe.com