As most of you know, over the past 13 years, my wife Nancy has put her heart and soul into building the Girls on the Run program throughout Vermont with the goal of having a positive impact on the lives of our elementary and middle-school girls.
Thanks to Nancy's devotion to the program, more than 13,000 Vermont girls have experienced the thrill of completing a 5K race.
While training for that event, these girls have learned about good nutrition, physical fitness, the dangers of alcohol and tobacco, and what it means to be a positive friend and schoolmate. They have completed countless community service projects and raised money to provide money for program scholarships for other girls around the state, even girls they might not ever meet.
I have had the pleasure of coordinating the 5K events for the past decade, and I've seen the smiles on the girls' faces as they cross the finish line, hand-in-hand with their mothers, fathers, coaches, or friends. Some of these girls had never run a step when they started the program 10 weeks earlier, but no matter how they got there, each one is so proud of her accomplishment. It's amazing to see.