Outdoor Ringgold raised roughly $1,500 through its inaugural Freedom 5k Color Run fundraiser to benefit the Ringgold Flag Fund.
"The event was a big success," said Mayor Nick Millwood, who helped begin Outdoor Ringgold when he began his term in office. "In the inaugural year of the event we had 50 runners and multiple eager sponsors to support one of the best things about our city, which is the flying of our flags."
The Ringgold Flag Fund installs 1,339 American Flags with white crosses at the bottom in downtown Ringgold around patriotic holidays. The crosses hold the names of Catoosa County military veterans who served and are now deceased. The flags fly in downtown Ringgold for two weeks around Memorial Day and again around Veterans Day.
Freedom 5K Color Run T-shirts were presented to Color Run participants, who began running at Ringgold High School, wrapped around downtown Ringgold and ran past Ringgold Middle School..
"On the T-shirt it was the iconic image of soldiers raising a flag," said Millwood. "We honored a veteran Kristopher Tinney by putting his name on the T-shirt."
Outdoor Ringgold also hosts community walks every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. starting at Ringgold City Hall. Recently,the group hosted a Nature Trail Cleanup Day and a Chickamauga Creek Cleanup Day this summer.
The sponsors of the race were Ringgold Telephone Company, SmartBank, Above the Ridge, Entertainment Evolved and Modern Woodmen of America.
To learn more, visit Facebook.com/RinggoldHealthandWellness/.