LJCF received special recognition during the popular event held in downtown Great Bend where men walk and run in a relay race in red high heels to benefit the Barton County's Family Crisis Center. This year’s special guest was M.L. Carr, former star of the National Basketball Association team, the Boston Celtics.

LJCF youth were singled out for recognition for raising awareness among younger people. LJCF hosted a “mini-walk” earlier in the day at LJCF so youth residents could take part in the event that alone raised $57 from LJCF youth.

LJCF staffer Kasi Schartz designed T-shirts that the juvenile facility sold as a fund raiser to honor Susan Bagby, a former Kinsley resident who died in a domestic violence incident in February 2014 in Oklahoma. The LJCF team’s efforts earned recognition for being the top team pledge.

The LJCF team ran, walked and hobbled through the one-mile relay race. LJCF team member Kevin Stegman earned the “Most Likely to Turn an Ankle” award after actually turning an ankle.  

Joining Stegman on the LJCF team were Jason Parson, Shawn Couch, Doug Lawson and Tom Snyder.

Laura Patzner, event organizer and director of the Family Crisis Center, gave praise to LJCF staff for their commitment to end domestic violence.

“Every two minutes, a woman is sexually assaulted,” Patzner said. “One in five girls is sexually assaulted, and over 10 million kids every year are witnesses to domestic violence.”  

Patzner asked the event’s participants to remember Teresa Carter, Bobbie Jo Ralston, Alicia DeBolt, Michelle Heggemier, Rhiannon Young and Susan Bagby, who were killed as a result of violence against women.

(Article content provided by Susan Prescott; photos by Paul Zamarripa, CT Taylor, and Great Bend Tribune).

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