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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Naperville Noon Lions Turkey Trot is set to run Thanksgiving morning

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UPDATE, Nov. 28, 2014 / A photo gallery of runners who participated in the 2014 Naperville Noon Lions Club Turkey Trot 5K, another sold-out run for all ages and skill sets, is now posted in the Positively Naperville sports section. Enjoy!

Original Post / The Naperville Noon Lions Club will host its 17th annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Be prepared for some road closures now marked with yellow signs along the race route.

Lions-TT-start-line-photo-Recovered
The 2013 Turkey Trot sold out about a week before the event. All registration for participants is in advance of the race on Thanksgiving Day.

Stepping off at 8AM, the race will start and finish on Hillside Drive next to Naperville Central High School Field House, 440 Aurora Avenue. For details about the sold-out run, go to www.napervilleturkeytrot.com or register for the Wait List.  There will be no same-day-of-race registration.

According to publicity chairman Bob Hull, the race has generated approximately 1.5 million dollars over the last 10 years. These funds along with amounts raised from an annual Summer Raffle, funnel cake sales at the Exchange Club of Naperville’s Ribfest over the 4th of July holiday and Candy Day in October support many community programs, including Lions’ signature programs of vision, hearing and diabetes. Annual net revenue generated from these events approximate $240,000, said Lion Bill Bleecker, Club and Foundation Treasurer.

After the Turkey Trot, many runners, families and friends head to downtown Naperville to celebrate with good cheer on Thanksgiving Day. Quigley’s Irish Pub is open until noon.

Noon Lions Turkey Trot since 1998

The first 5K Turkey Trot was held on Thanksgiving morning in 1998 with only 200 runners registering.  The race was an idea of Club members to increase resources to support the ever growing demand for the Lions many community programs, said Lion Maria Wilson, who was a member of the first Turkey Trot Committee.

Turkey-Trot
Artist Jim Weren drew a cartoon depicting the start of the Turkey Trot for the November 2004 issue of Positively Naperville.

This year’s event is expected to have 7,500 registered runners. Current Race Director, Lion Donna Kearney, said the growth of the run over the years is unbelievable.

“This is an exciting and fun event and has become a family tradition in Naperville.  Although the winning time is around 15 minutes, the majority of runners are out for the exercise, fresh air and fellowship before a big Thanksgiving dinner,” noted Kearney.

2013_11_28_Turkey_Trot_7146
Families gather together at the annual Turkey Trot as a fun run on Thanksgiving Day, celebrating the Lions Club slogan , “Run Fast, EAT LATER, No Penalty! ”   Photo by Jo Lundeen

Thanks to many repeat runners, the Turkey Trot has sold out the last three years—and recently for 2014. A wait list is posted online.

Planning for the event is a year-round activity for the Lions but starts in earnest in July of each year with its 12-member committee. Each committee member is assigned different areas of responsibility, such as sponsorships, finance, volunteers, publicity, communications and registration. In October and November the committee meets weekly to complete final plans for the run.

How Lions support the community

The signature program of the Lions is to support individuals, both children and adults, with eye examinations, eye glasses, hearing screening and diabetes supplies. These services are provided at no cost to individuals who could not otherwise afford this type of service.

Over the last fiscal year services were provided to 369 individual, for both vision and hearing, at a cost of over $95,000.  In addition, vision screenings for 44 children where conducted at the Anne Reed Early Childhood Center in Naperville by local volunteer optometrist. These screenings are required for pre school children to enter kindergarten.

Other programs this year include support to the Naperville Park District by providing interactive signage at the newly opened Knoch Knoll Nature Center to assist low vision and hard of hearing individuals to navigate through the Center. Also, comfort toys and books are provided to children in the pediatric department of Edward Hospital and certain funeral homes in Naperville to help these children relieve stressful life events. Support is also provided too many local charities whose mission is compatible with that of the Lions Club.

World’s largest service organization

Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service organization, with more than 1.3 million members and over 44,000 member clubs.

As a member club, the Naperville Noon Lions Club consists of 45 energetic and enthusiastic members who provide many volunteer hours each year to support the Lions mission.

The Lions mission is to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions Clubs.  The Lions motto is WE SERVE.

The Naperville Noon Lions Club meets every Tuesday for lunch. Guests and prospective members are welcome to attend a luncheon meeting. For more info, call (630) 364-3922.

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