Information provided by San Benito County Behavioral Health. Lea este artículo en español aquí.
On October 19, 2024, San Benito County Behavioral Health celebrated the 34th Annual Red Ribbon Run and Festival. The event marked the beginning of the Red Ribbon Week which is held every year throughout the world on October 23-October 31. Red Ribbon Week was started in 1985 after the death of DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In honor of Camarena and his fight against illegal drugs, friends and family began to wear red satin badges. Now Red Ribbon serves to educate our youth and encourage them to take part in drug prevention activities. The celebration is a way to show kids that they can still have fun while not doing drugs.
In partnership with the City of Hollister Parks and Recreation Department, a 3k fun run and 5k competitive run kicked off the morning’s festivities with 186 participants. Valeria Prado beautifully sang the national anthem on the steps of the Veterans Memorial Building in front of a resource-filled plaza. Tim Heavin, a graduate of SBCBH’s drug court program and a community leader, delivered the keynote speech integrating this year’s theme of “Life is a Movie, Film Drug Free”. He encouraged others to be the director of their own life’s movie. SBCBH’s Director, Dana Edgull, shared the history and purpose of the event in educating youth about drugs and participating in drug-free activities. Planning committee members from Behavioral Health and Hollister Recreation presented the trophies for the run as well as raffled off several great prizes including gift baskets, gift certificates, and gadgets. On display on stage were the top winners of the art contest submitted by students from local schools.
5K Competitive Run list of winners:
Adult 18+ Male
1st: Anthony Cortes 15:37
2nd: Tyler Ham 17:11
3rd Jose Corona 18:47
Adult 18+ Female
1st: Erika Trujillo-Hernandez 23:16
2nd: Paulina Llamas 26:47
3rd: Jesica Anna Velarde 27:35
Age group 14-17
1st: Noah Arreola 18:06
2nd: Cali Barberi 18:42
3rd: Alexsander Palencia 21:17
Age group 11-13
1st: Andrew Castaneda 19:13
2nd: Natalia Rodriguez 19:51
3rd: Juli Barberi 20:52
Age group 10 and under
1st: Ava Medina 30:03
San Benito County Behavioral Health would like to acknowledge and thank all the local agencies, volunteers, and businesses for their support:
- City of Hollister Parks & Recreation
- San Benito County Government
- SBC Office of Education
- SBC Opioid Task Force
- SBC Tobacco Ed
- San Benito +
- Youth Alliance
- Youth Recovery Connections
- Central Coast Alliance for Health
- Suicide Prevention Service of The Central Coast
- Community Food Bank of San Benito
- SBC Free Library
- Sun Street Centers
- Valley Health Associates
- Bright Future Recovery
- Go Kids
- Gavilan College
- YMCA
- Gold’s Gym
- Spudnut & Deli
- Golden Memorial Insurance Services
- Cypress Memorial Insurance Services
- Tacos La Cascada
- EZPZ Video Game Parties
- SBC Resource Family Approval
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