House of Mews 5k Meowathon Run/Walk Photo Slide Show
By: Michael G. Lander
House of Mews 9th Annual Meowathon 5K Run/Walk brings out cat lovers, supporters
Cat lovers and The House of Mews supporters gathered together to participate in the ninth annual Meowathon 5K Run/Walk and Silent Auction on Saturday, Nov. 17, at Overton Park in Memphis.
"The Meowathon is the biggest fundraiser that we have, next to our food drive that kicks off in December" Holly Smith said. Smith is a volunteer who is in charge of public relations for The House of Mews.
The House of Mews is a nonprofit, volunteer-run, cat sanctuary and feline rescue agency. On their website, they claim to have adopted over 8,500 cats since they started in February 1994. They are located in the Cooper-Young Neighborhood at 933 South Cooper Street in Memphis.
Clark and Katie Ortkiese were among the hundreds of those who participated in Meowathon this year. They joined approximately 300 other runners and walkers, 274 of whom had their times recorded after the race.
"We love this race," Katie Ortkiese said. "The House of Mews is a fantastic organization, and we try to do the Meowathon to support the kitties."
Despite pushing a stroller with their one-year-old twins in it, the Ortkieses were still able to complete their run in 31 minutes and 53 seconds. The new parents are planning on participating in the St. Jude Marathon in a couple of weeks and the 5K Meowathon run was part of much longer training run in preparation for this.
The individual with the best overall time in the Meowathon was 21-year-old Michael Ascuitto. He finished the 5K run in 17 minutes and 48 seconds.
With both the proceeds from the 5K and the silent auction, Smith said that The House of Mews exceeded their goal from last year. The total race revenue that they received was $37,000 and the silent auction netted them $6,000. Altogether, they raised $4,000 more than they did last year.
"It takes a lot of time and effort to put on this event, especially since we are all volunteers," Smith said. They start organizing for this in June.
The Meowathon received assistance from the Memphis Runners Track Club (MRCC) who sanctioned and coordinated it. Participants who finished in the top three spots of their respective age groups, received a medal engraved with The House of Mews cat logo on the front of it.
To learn more about The House of Mews, you can go to its website: http://www.houseofmews.com/, their facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/thehouseofmews?ref=ts&fref=ts, or you can follow them on twitter at: https://twitter.com/TheHouseofMews. To contact them, you can call 901-272-3777 or email them at Houseof [email protected].
The business hours for The House of Mews is 1-5 p.m. on Tuesday, 4-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, 4-7:30 p.m. on Friday, and 12-4 p.m. on Saturday. They are closed on Sunday and Monday.
The Platinum Paw Business Sponsors of the Meowathon event this year included Greenway Home Services Plumbing and Appliances, Family Leisure, S & S Striping and Clear Channel Outdoor. The Gold Business Paw Sponsors were Petco Foundation and Raymond James Morgan Keegan. The Silver Paw Business Sponsor was Pinnacle Airlines Corp, and the Bronze Paw Business Sponsors were Conway Services, Doron Diamond Merchant, Clay & Land and Business Visuals Commercial Photography.
Michael Lander covers Sports and Recreation for MicroMemphis.
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