CEI Foundation’s annual Great Race for Education raises over $100,000
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The following is a news release from the CEI Foundation.
IDAHO FALLS — The College of Eastern Idaho (CEI) Foundation announced today that the annual Great Race for Education-Espionage Edition, held July 21, raised a whopping $102,000, by far the most of any of the event’s 15 editions.
“It boggles the mind, to be honest,” said Dave Facer, CEI Foundation executive Director. “People have been incredibly generous. We do our best to put together a fun, unique event, and it’s completely worth it because of the outcome and what that will do to help people make generational change.”
The event’s uniqueness stems from its structure, where a team of four runners, with the help of other team members at home base, follow clues to various businesses where they perform fun challenges. The teams are sponsored by local businesses and a healthy competition between many of them has developed over the years.
“The Great Race is a wonderful way to support a cause we believe in while having a lot of fun,” explained Cortney Liddiard, CEO of Ball Ventures. “We challenged ourselves to set a new fundraising record for the event and Ball Ventures is proud to have raised more than $31,000 for the college thanks to the generous support of our employees, members of our community and businesses across the region. We plan to continue that upward trajectory with next year’s Great Race. With CEI’s track record in educating nurses, auto techs, and everyone in-between, we will all ultimately benefit from this investment.”
Brian Ziel, Marketing Director at Mountain View Hospital, stated — “We absolutely love being involved in the Great Race for Education. Not only do we get to help raise scholarship money that goes back into our community, but we also get to interact with the faculty, staff, students, and other like-minded business professionals in the community.”
This is the most money The Great Race has ever raised to support scholarships and program support at the College of Eastern Idaho. The previous record was just over $60,000 raised last year. Facer says the Great Race for Education would not happen without the many dedicated sponsors, volunteers, and team members that are critical to its success.
“As wonderful as this all is, it doesn’t just happen. Places like Mountain View and Idaho Falls Community Hospitals, Idaho Environmental Coalition, Ball Ventures, Teton Toyota, and a LOT more, not to mention the volunteers, give The Great Race it’s magic. Many of them have been doing this since the beginning in 2008.”
The next Great Race for Education is already scheduled for July 19, 2024.