As the years pass by, support continues to grow for Dr. Josh Wandell and the fight to cure ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
That support was in abundance as the East Side community was prevalent with foot traffic during the annual Race for Wandell event on Saturday, Sept. 18, outside of East Side Elementary School.
It was a far cry from the first event, Neal Wandell, Josh’s brother said, as attendees flocked to either run, walk or simply give a kind word to the family.
“We started four years ago, and we didn’t know what we were doing,” Neal Wandell said with a chuckle. “It’s just grown completely from year one to year four. It’s overwhelming. I’d say overall, between the runners, people coming in for the silent auction … we’ve had over 1,000 people. We’re just blessed to have a community this strong come out to support Dr. Wandell.”
Saturday’s events also set records through Tennessee with the Race for Wandell 3K being the state’s first ever sanctioned 3K run. Craig Emmert won the overall race and male runner award while Ellie Hall finished as the top female runner. In a day of firsts, the race was professionally-timed for the first time thanks to the help of RunCorps.
“We had RunCorps step up for us this year,” Neal added. “They did the timing for us. They’re just really awesome to work with. Usually in the past, one of our biggest challenges has been the timing. RunCorps is a new company and they stepped up for us. All the timing is electronic. All we did was give out the bibs and they did the rest. It’s taken much of the burden off our volunteers’ shoulders.”
Kelly Geagley, Josh’s uncle, helped spearhead the event and estimated over 65 individuals took time out to volunteer Saturday, while the race itself netted 397 runners, also from online registration.
“We had more come in for the registration right before the race,” he added. “So it could be well over that. This was a perfect day, we couldn’t ask for anything better. This has been our fourth year in a row holding a race and it hasn’t rained a drop on any race. The crowd was amazing. I think we set a record as far as registration goes this year. We just want to have a lot of runners, fun run walkers. Our family is very blessed to see the community come out the way they have.”
Since Dr. Wandell’s diagnosis, Neal had nothing but thanks to give to the community.
“Four years ago, the goal for this was to raise awareness for ALS,” he added. “People don’t really know what it is, we didn’t know what it was. If you would of asked me five years ago before Josh got diagnosed, I couldn’t of told you who Lou Gehrig was.
“In a small community like this, over the past four years, you go up to anybody in Elizabethton and they’d say ‘that’s what doctor Wandell has’ … the ice bucket challenge helped but we’re still trying to push the agenda to find a cure. That’s our goal and that’s what an event like today does. It helps with Josh’s medical expenses, helps fund the raise and helps raise awareness. We couldn’t be more excited about this event.”
Another piece to Saturday’s event included a silent auction, which grew well beyond imagination, Neal added.
“We did the math in our heads. We have around $2,000 to $3,000 worth of stuff that was donated,” he said. “People donated stuff just out of the kindness of their hearts, some that don’t even know Josh. Tammy Troutman, one of Josh’s teachers when he was principal, ran the silent auction and it could almost be a separate event with how big it is. We can’t help but thank her for her help with the event.”
Items that were up for bidding included an authentic stormtropper helmet from the Star Wars’ movies signed by comedian/musician “Weird Al” Yankovic, a golf package to Hilton Head Island, S.C., totaled at $900, a Carnegie spa package priced at $200 and various Elizabethton Cyclone and East Tennessee State University Buccaneer packages.
As the sun beat down on the area Saturday, Dr. Wandell was able to enjoy the day under a tent, spending time with multiple individuals outside the school, where he once served as principal.
“I think he’s just overwhelmed,” Geagley said. “He’s not about himself. He loves bringing awareness to ALS but he never wants the focus to be on him. I think he just feels so blessed and so overwhelmed with the amount of people that showed up today.”