All who attended the Monarch Strong event witnessed the Clarendon County community coming together to help turn pain into purpose. Among those supporters included Clarendon County Sheriff Department, who escorted the group cyclists on a 26 mile honor bike ride from JC Britton Park to the 3rd water (Santee Cooper Dam) and Manning cheerleaders who motivated the crowd and the cyclists upon their return to the Park.
Iesha Shipp told the crowd, “Cycling has changed my life. Every time I see cyclists I think of my husband of whom we would have celebrated 33 years of marriage last June. Manning will forever be a part of my history.”
Linda Davis followed, “First, I want to thank Artheia for including an honor ride for our husbands in her already made plans for the Monarch Strong Bike-Run-Walk event. This means a lot to us. Biking is so much fun! I would encourage all of you to consider biking because of its health benefits. Since my husband’s death, I am working closely with the Palmetto Cycling Coalition in SC and advocating for cyclists safety. I would advise all of you to reach out to your local leaders to make bike safety a priority.”
Monarch Strong’s 3rd Annual Bike-Run-Walk was a fun-filled day that also drew walking participants who were along JC Britton Park’s walking trail, while other participants enjoyed music, Zumba, horseback riding, alumni kickball, and Pickleball lessons. The Bike-Run-Walk is one of two Monarch Strong events to help raise scholarship funds for deserving Manning High School seniors. If you would like to make a meaningful difference in the lives of students, please make your tax deductible contribution to https://monarchstrong.com/msdonations/
The writer and broadcaster, Walter Winchell, got it right when he coined, Manning, as a place, “Matchless for Beauty and Hospitality.”
