Posted: August 23, 2004

Athletics: Crim Director Resigns, Moves on to Youth Fitness Program

FLINT, Mich. - (August 18, 2004) - Sherlynn Everly, executive director of the Crim Festival of Races for six years, will leave the position when her contract ends December 31.

Among other ventures, Everly will coordinate Running Rocks Afterschool, a joint project of the national nonprofit organizations, Afterschool Alliance and Running USA. The pilot project seeks to promote fitness among young people in four cities, with the plan to roll out a nation-wide program in spring 2005.

Everly said the program intends to positively affect children's health and address childhood obesity. "If we can get kids running and focusing on their health, we hope we'll instill good habits that will last throughout their lives."

She said she also intends to spend more time kayaking with her husband, Jim, and playing golf.

Mark Yonan, president of the Crim Board of Directors, said Everly "will be hard to replace. "She's done a remarkable job juggling the many demands of managing the Crim," he continued.

During her tenure, Everly directed many enhancements to the Crim including: adding the 5K Friday night racewalk, which has become the Michigan USATF 5K Racewalk Championship; moving the Teddy Beat Trot to increase visibility and fan support; increasing training program participation from 217 in 1999 to 780 this year (a nearly 300 percent growth); increasing youth participation by 8 percent; and increasing Crim weekend Friday evening activities by adding the Crim Kids Invitational Race and a Pep Rally.

Everly is credited with generating over $350,000 in grant support for the Crim and broader state and national media coverage of the event.

In 1999, the Crim became a founding member of Running USA, a trade organization for the running industry. Everly served as the first female board member of the non-profit organization and is completing her second term on its board.

In 2000, Everly joined the Crim training program for the first time. She and husband Jim Clark now lead an 8K training group.

Everly said she will remain on the Crim staff until a replacement is found.

She has 20 years of professional experience with Michigan departments of public health, mental health and social services. Prior to joining the Crim, Everly was the director of the Michigan Renaissance Festival for two years.

On August 28, the Crim Festival of Races will celebrate its 28th running on the historic bricks of downtown Flint. Since 1977, it has grown to be the largest three-day running festival in Michigan, attracting the finest distance runners from around the world and winning acclaim and respect throughout the international running community.

The Crim Festival of Races is USA Track & Field sanctioned and is a founding member of Running USA. The Road Runners Club of America named The Crim as one of its Twenty Great Races Across the Nation in 2002, and Running Times recommended The Crim in its May 2004 issue, "Summer Race Guide - Classic Races".

For more information about the Crim Festival of Races, call (810) 235-3396 or www.crim.org.