Nutter Run benefits Soldiers
By Officer Candidate Ana Bolanos, 254th Regiment

Officer Candidates Class #52 is hosting the 5th Annual SGT Sam Nutter 5K Run on May 31 at the National Guard Training Center at Sea Girt.

The run will start at 10 a.m. and will be followed by a presentation of the proceeds to the beneficiary family and an awards presentation for the runners with the best time in the different age groups for males and females. There will also be a barbeque and live music.

The Sam Nutter Organization was created in 2005 and is administered by the Officer Candidate School of the New Jersey Army National Guard to raise funds to benefit National Guard families in need. Each year, a charity 5 kilometer run is planned in remembrance of SGT Sam Nutter, a former OCS candidate whose terminal cancer did not stop him from assisting the OCS class and staff.

In 2006, the beneficiary was Ashleigh Ryann Gwinn who was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy. The next year, proceeds went to Caitlyn McGuire who was and still is trying to beat her battle with cancer. Last year’s beneficiary was Dina Hickman, who at the age of six months was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type I. This year all proceeds will be donated to the family of Sgt. Raul Aponte who is currently deployed with the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The Aponte family home was struck by lightning during a storm in 2008 and caught fire, leaving them without a permanent residence and under heavy financial burden.

If you would like to participate in the run, donate, or sponsor a runner, please go to www.nutterrun.com for more information call (877) 428-4774. Registration is encouraged prior to the event, but can be done up to 30 minutes before the race starts. All ages can to participate in the run.