Loveland’s Charlotte Community Cruises to Victory

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Loveland Center’s 3rd Annual Ability 5K Race and 1K Fun Walk was held on a clear morning in Punta Gorda’s Laishley Park on March 26, 2023. This annual event takes place along the waterfront of Charlotte Harbor with beautiful views in a family- and pet-friendly atmosphere. We welcomed more than 200 attendees, including some furry friends from the Animal Welfare League of Port Charlotte.

Our presenting sponsor was PGT Innovations, which also serves as an Annual Sponsor for Loveland Center. We are thankful to companies like PGT, which share similar core values and a desire to assist others in the community to thrive and grow. We are honored to have Bob Keller, Senior Vice President of Customer Strategy & Innovation, SE Division, at PGT Innovations, on our Board of Directors for Loveland Center. He ran and medaled too!

A huge thank you to all the sponsors who made this event possible. We are grateful for your support and could not bring visibility to disability without Pulse Heart, Valve, and Vascular Institute; Medsol Clinical Research; Mathnasium of Port Charlotte; Integrity Employee Leasing; Total Martial Arts & Fitness; Goodwill of Manasota; Sara Picard of Modern Woodmen; and Jeff Guerin of Jeff Reviews4U.

Congratulations to Tony Nickell and Nancy Greeson, our 3rd Annual Ability 5K Race winners. Tony was the first runner to cross the finish line at 19:55 minutes and Nancy with a finish time of 22:31. Way to go, Tony and Nancy! Find all our Trophy, Gold, Silver, and Bronze medalists in every age category by visiting our race partner’s site at Beach Bum Timing.

The 3rd Annual Ability 5K Race and 1K Fun Walk also offered the opportunity to win a “Tour of Charlotte County” basket through a chance drawing. This basket contained many gift cards that were donated by the following local Charlotte County businesses and had a retail value of over $800. Thank you to all the businesses who contributed to the chance drawing basket:

  • Sunshine Ace Hardware of Port Charlotte
  • Rita’s Italian Ice
  • Iguanaland
  • The Grill at 1951
  • The Twisted Fork of Port Charlotte
  • King Fisher Fleet
  • Paddle Me Happy Kayak Rentals
  • Peace River Charters
  • Gaspar’s Dive Shop

We were delighted to have an amazing group of volunteers this year to assist with all aspects of the event, including a very early morning set-up. Thank you to Charlotte High School’s Leo Club, Port Charlotte High School’s Key Club and National Honor Society for joining us, along with Loveland Center board members, staff, family, and friends who all contributed to the success of the event.

Look for future updates on the 4th Annual Ability Run as soon as the City of Punta Gorda approves our requested date for a Saturday in mid-April 2024.