Zachary Taylor 5K Walk/Run Scheduled For September 27
BY LAUREN MATTHEWS
Staff Writer
The first annual Zachary Taylor Trust 5K Walk/Run will be held Sept. 27, beginning at 10 a.m. with registration at 9 a.m. The event’s first year will be held in memory of Gavin and Emmalyn Ash, local infant twins who were born prematurely and did not survive.
Zachary Taylor was the courageous local young man who inspired so many before he died, at the age of 18, from the cancer he had his whole life.
The Zachary Taylor Trust Fund was created in 2011 when the 17-year-old Taylor was preparing for his own funeral. Having battled cancer his whole life, In November 2011, he was told he had one-to-two weeks to live. He wanted to make his last days as joyous and carefree as possible. In his mind, that included making the needed funeral arrangements.
Zachary didn’t want his family to have the burden of planning his funeral, so he did it himself. Moved by the young man’s amazing attitude and concern for his family, Weldon Williams of Jarvis-Williams Funeral Homes and Williams Funeral Home opened the Zachary Taylor Trust Account at WesBanco.
“I thought, if everyone would just go to WesBanco and donate even one dollar, then it would all be paid for,” said Williams. However, Taylor’s story and life inspired thousands and the fund quickly grew large enough to cover his funeral expenses.
The excess, Taylor decided, should be paid forward to help other families pay for the funeral expenses of their young loved ones. That is exactly what the fund does for families of those 18 or younger – all in the name of the inspiring young man who didn’t want to burden his family.
Taylor did succumb to the cancer that haunted him his entire life. However, he outlasted the doctors’ prediction of one-to-two weeks, enjoying the last five months while inspiring many.
The Sept. 27 run/walk will start and finish in front of Quinet’s Court Restaurant on Main Street, New Martinsville.
The entry fee for pre-registered participants is $20, with the fee the day of the event rising to $25.
Entry forms are available at the following locations: Simon’s Market, Norris Pharmacy, Mason’s Depot, and Valley Dinner in Pine Grove; Short Line Station and Mason’s Filling Station in Reader; Jacksonburg Pitstop in Jacksonburg; Slug’s Tattoos, Witschey’s, Azteca, Certified, 7-11, Sunoco, Go-Mart, Choo-Choos, Quinet’s Court Restaurant, and FOP (Coffee Cup) in New Martinsville;:
In addition, Boggs’ PizzaNGrlll, Speedway Diner, and Exxon in Middlebourne; Morris Variety Store in Wileyville; Ables Cheese, Par Mar, and Riverside Golf Course in Sardis.
Interested individuals can also pick up an entry form online at the Ohio Valley Runners and Walkers website on the race page www.ovrunnersandwalkers.org/races.html or by e-mailing mzb323@gmail.com.
Call Miranda Brown at 304-904-1297 or Valerie Ash at 304-889-2968 for additional information.