by Kelsey Butler
“ D uring the storm , as James
Spann detailed the path , my heart just sank . Not because of our event scheduled to take place at Pete Mathews Coliseum on May 20 , but because of all of our friends who live and work in Jacksonville , and I love that beautiful campus .” Brooke Nelson describes how she felt as she watched weather coverage on the evening of March 19 .
Nelson serves as Race Director for Cheaha Challenge , presented by Northeast Alabama Bicycle Association ( NEABA ). For years , the ride has centered around the city of Jacksonville and the campus of Jacksonville State University . Cyclists lodge in dorms and use the facilities at the Coliseum .
“ We stayed glued to the TV and Facebook ,” Nelson continues . “ And it was not until the reports of the coliseum being leveled
( which were untrue ) that I even clicked and considered what it would mean to our rides .”
In the days after the storm , Nelson reached out to her contacts at JSU and offered help from NEABA . She says the organization had a social scheduled for the Sunday following the storm , and NEABA decided to turn that event into a clean-up for the Ladiga Trail , but she says the trail had already been cleared . “ So we turned it into a fundraiser , where cyclists pledged to donate a certain amount for every mile they rode that day . Once we tallied the amount raised , NEABA matched it , and we took funds totaling more than $ 2,000 and presented it to the JSU Foundation .”
Nelson stayed in contact with the university saying she asked them to “ lead her ”. “ I do not want to be that person , the one saying , ‘ Sorry for your devastation , but what about me ?’”. Two and a half weeks
14 May 2018
INSIGHT