To the Editor:

The second annual Lt. Mark H. Dooley 5K Race of Remembrance was run on Sunday, September 19. Thanks to the overwhelming support of Wilmington and the surrounding areas it was an unparalleled success. Area businesses, associations, and individuals answered the call providing generous donations of food, merchandise, money, and volunteering time necessary to ensure this was a great event. To mention some here in this limited space is to omit others but all will be properly detailed on the www.markdooley5k.com web site in coming days as well as raffle winners, race results, and tons of photos.

We are pleased to announce that approximately $7,000 was netted and will be divided between the local (Wilmington) memorial/scholarship fund in Mark’s name and the VT Global War on Terror Memorial (currently under construction) honoring all of Vermont’s fallen soldiers who have been lost in recent conflicts.Of course the 226 race participants themselves, including Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, contributed greatly to our success.We invite any attendees with special photos of the race to send them on to us for posting to the site, ltmarkdooley5k@gmail.com. We further hope that you will join us next year in this endeavor.Vermonters and area residents in particular should be incredibly proud of the event that they made possible. The family members of those that have served, are serving, and particularly the families and friends of those that lost loved ones were genuinely moved by watching this tribute come together.

It is the least we can do for them.

Greg Murano

Wilmington