Runners take off at the 2024 annual Kiwanis BUG Chase 5K run. PROVIDED

The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis held the 16th annual BUG Chase 5K run on Jan. 13 at the Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium in Fort Myers. The race benefited the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis BUG (Bring Up Grades) program and other local club sponsored youth service projects. There were almost 300 registered participants who traveled the trails at the nature center. The run raised a net total of more than $12,000.

Sponsors included Mills-Price & Associates, Passarella & Associates, Inc., Weinstein Wilkes Financial Group and Burandt, Adamski, Feichthaler & Sanchez, PLLC.

Lindsay Norris won overall female with a time of 20:40. Esteban Pinilla won overall male with a time of 20:26. Other winners included: Erin Cantwell (Masters Female), Ivan Melendez (Masters Male), Sandy Taylor (Grand Master Female), Charlie Moore (Grand Master Male), Sharie Kellner (Senior Grand Master Female) and Chris Westley (Senior Grand Master Male). Age group awards were also presented. Full race results can be found HERE. Photos from the race can be found on the Metro-McGregor Kiwanis Club‘s Facebook page and more than 350 photos are on the Facebook event page.

All proceeds benefit the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis BUG (Bring Up Grades) program, designed to provide recognition to local elementary students who raise their grades to an acceptable range and maintain or continue to raise them from one grading period to the next, and other local club sponsored youth service projects. Schools that have been supported by the club’s BUG program include Littleton Elementary, Rayma C. Page Elementary and Orangewood Elementary.

In addition to the BUG program, the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis Club also supports the following sponsored leadership programs: Aktion Club at LARC, Circle K International (CKI) at Florida Gulf Coast University, Key Club at FSW Collegiate High, Builders Club at Cypress Lake Middle and K-Kids at Dr. Carrie D. Robinson Littleton Elementary School. The club funded multi-sensory rooms at Tropic Isles Elementary, NFM Academy for the Arts, Heights Elementary, Rayma C. Page Elementary and James Stephens Elementary. The club supplies a world atlas to either every fourth or third grade student at the following schools: Rayma C. Page Elementary, Heights Elementary, Orangewood Elementary, Littleton Elementary and James Stephens Elementary.

2024 Female Top Finisher Lindsay Norris. PROVIDED

The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis club also supports many other organizations including Pine Manor Improvement Association, March of Dimes, The Salvation Army, Ronald McDonald House, Early Learning Coalition of SWFL, Children’s Network of SWFL, Healthy Start of SWFL and more.

For more information regarding the 16th annual Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis BUG Chase, please contact Rachel Toomey at Rachel.Toomey33@gmail.com.

The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis is looking for more service-minded individuals and business professionals who would like to make a direct impact on the community through volunteering. Meetings are held every Tuesday in Fort Myers. For details on joining the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis, please call Membership Chair Linda Petrik at 239-357-2053. Interested individuals or businesses can also email metromcgregorkiwanis@gmail.com. The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or online at MetroMcGregorKiwanis.com.

2024 Male Top Finisher Esteban Pinilla. PROVIDED

Diego Checo-Wu and Jack Mann cross the finish line. PROVIDED

Mary Bartoshuk competes in the 2024 Kiwanis BUG Chase 5K run. PROVIDED

Adult and youth runners compete in 2024 BUG Chase 5K run. PROVIDED

Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis family volunteers at the 2024 Kiwanis BUG Chase 5K run. PROVIDED