Wauconda board votes to sponsor Turkey Trot

When the third annual Wauconda Turkey Trot begins on Thanksgiving Day, village Trustee Teri Burke will be at the starting line.

Burke has run a 5-kilometer race only once before, so she's a little anxious about the event.

“I have been trying to train,” she told the Daily Herald on Tuesday. “I run a couple miles every day.”

Burke and her peers on the village board voted Tuesday to formally sponsor the Turkey Trot, which is set for 9 a.m. Nov. 28.

It's the first time the village is sponsoring the race, which is put on by local running enthusiasts.

The village is kicking in $1,000 as part of the sponsorship, with proceeds benefiting the Wauconda and Island Lake Food Pantry.

“It's something positive,” Mayor Frank Bart said of the race. “It's positive health wise, and it's positive getting the community together.”

But the village's sponsorship isn't just about the money or community building.

Under village rules first enforced this summer, a nonprofit community group or the village has to sponsor an event in order for roads to be closed or the downtown parking lot to be used.

The annual Blues, Brew & Burger Fest — set in the parking lot off Main Street — faced cancellation this summer because Bart initially refused to issue a special-event permit or a liquor license to the organizers.

The local Lions Club saved the day by co-sponsoring the gathering.

The Turkey Trot is put on by Star Runners, a group of running enthusiasts that raises money for local, national and international charities. Trustee Linda Starkey's husband, Glenn, is among the group's leaders.

Linda Starkey didn't vote on the sponsorship Tuesday because of the conflict of interest. The proposal passed 4-0.

Trustee Lincoln Knight was absent.