1st ANNUAL DIXIE HIGHWAY RUN

by Brian Bailey

For many years I have been an active participant in Southwest Louisville particularly the Dixie Highway area. There is so much history and pride in this area that I decided to organize a facebook group simply titled "I Am Dixie Highway."

In just a few short weeks the response has been so overwhelming that we were recently featured in the Courier Journal (10/28/2009) http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091028/ZONE08/910280334/1027/NEWS0102/Facebook%20fans%20salute%20Dixie%20Highway.

I created the group as a forum for "Dixievillian's" to gather and reminisce and it has grown at such a fast pace (currently over 2000 members) that I decided to take it to the next level.

I am currently organizing the "1st Annual Dixie Run" http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99324332851&v=app_2344061033#/event.php?eid=167676223180&index=1 scheduled for Sat. November 28th (Thanksgiving weekend) and the outpouring of support and people wanting to attend has been incredible to say the least. It is growing by leaps and bounds and I am asking everyone who wants to join us please sign up today!

The "1st Annual Dixie Run" is going to be a major event with hundreds already committed to joining in. It is our intent to showcase our local businesses and help those less fortunate through the holidays as well. With this in mind we are in talks with Toys~R~US to use them as our launch pad for the night, so that we can incorporate a toy drive to benefit the needy during the holiday season in our Dixie Highway families.

All participants of the Dixie Run are signing up online at the Group's Events page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99324332851&v=app_2344061033#/event.php?eid=167676223180&index=1. Everyone will meet up on Saturday November 28 at 6:00 p.m. to kick off the night. Each participant will receive a name tag with their name, what part of Dixie that they are from, and they will receive an Index card with a list of Dixie Businesses that they will visit that night...for Fun, Food and Beverage, Holiday Shopping Discounts, Prizes, and much more!

There will be a Family Friendly side and an Adult side...so there will be something for everyone. Some may choose to use this run to take advantage of special Dixie Run discounts and complete some of their Holiday shopping...others may simply use it as an opportunity to visit the local bar scene (We ARE highly encouraging the use of a Designated Driver).

Several businesses have said they would offer specials and prizes for participants and we will have a volunteer at each location to 'punch cards' as they make a purchase. Once the participants have completed the run, and have the correct number of hole-punches, they will take it to an end point (yet to be determined) and receive a free t-shirt. The front of the t-shirt reads "I AM Dixie Highway and I spend my money on Dixie Highway"...the back of the shirt says "1st Annual Dixie Run" and will contain ALL of the sponsoring businesses logos.

It is my sincerest hope that this run will be a profitable evening for our Dixie Highway businesses as well as a great way to give back to the community through the toy drive.

I am doing this for the people of our community to show our pride, as a way of helping our struggling local business community on Dixie Highway, and helping the needy of our community during the holidays.

Please make plans to attend. You never know who you will see after all the years on Dixie. Hope to see you there!

Brian Bailey