A popular Thanskgiving race and fundraiser for Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) is changing venues this year – sparking tense words between race organizers and district officials over the move and discussion of creating a new competing event to benefit TCAPS.

The Up North Media Turkey Trot, a 5K and five-mile race that attracts up to 2,500 participants each Thanksgiving morning, will relocate this year from TCAPS’ Thirlby Field to St. Francis High School. Organizer Brian Hagerty says the move was prompted by participant feedback, including about a lack of indoor space for packet pick-up and pre and post-event activities amid wintry weather conditions. “While Thirlby Field is a great facility, it has clear and obvious shortcomings for a race held in November,” Hagerty says. “There are logistical elements, from the start/finish line to the course design to parking, that were more appealing with a change in venue.”

The 2017 course will start just outside St. Francis High School between Cass and Union streets, winding through downtown Traverse City before ending back at the Eleventh Street school. According to Hagerty, the adjusted course route will alleviate congestion and allow faster runners an opportunity to get ahead of the pack. Participants will also be able to run with their dogs this year, something Hagerty says wasn’t allowed at Thirlby Field. Overall, the venue change will allow for more “comfort and convenience” for runners and volunteers, Hagerty says.

But TCAPS officials are questioning the rationale behind the move, as well as the potential loss of funding for the district’s Learning, Enrichment and Athletic Program (LEAP) due to the race relocation. For the past several years, Turkey Trot proceeds have brought in just under $10,000 annually to benefit LEAP – the single-biggest fundraising event for the program. LEAP offers sports, arts and other extra-curricular activities to an estimated 4,705 participants, with over $71,000 in scholarships awarded in 2016-17 to students who couldn’t otherwise afford to participate. TCAPS officials say they were told in meetings with Turkey Trot organizers that the race venue was changing because presenting sponsor 4Front Credit Union wanted the event proceeds to benefit a different cause.

“Perhaps there wasn’t a lot of understanding around exactly what (LEAP) was, and there were some of these assumptions like we’re making some pile of money somehow,” Superintendent Paul Soma told TCAPS board members at their September 11 meeting. “People make those statements, and they’re ignorant in those statements, and ultimately then poor decisions got made.”

Hagerty acknowledges 4Front “has a policy where they examine where their funds are sent” and that the company “has at different times talked about other worthy candidates in the community as beneficiaries” of Turkey Trot proceeds. But he insists the decision to relocate the race was his alone, and that it was made solely for logistical reasons. “4Front doesn’t have that type of decision-making power…which is why the LEAP program will still be the primary beneficiary of this year’s race,” Hagerty says. Up North Media will pay St. Francis for labor costs and venue rental for the 2017 race, but LEAP “will be the entity that receives the most significant amount of money as far as a beneficiary this year," according to Hagerty. He declined to say if event proceeds would go to a different beneficiary beginning in 2018.

4Front President Andy Kempf echoes Hagerty’s remarks, saying his company asked last year if proceeds could be “doled out a little bit – some to TCAPS and maybe some going to other charities that we support – but we were told no. We never did anything after that, and we continued to support Turkey Trot. We didn’t even know it got moved until (last week). We really had nothing to do with this...we hadn’t put any pressure on anybody as far as we’re concerned.”

In response to claims the event was moved for logistical reasons, TCAPS officials say they previously offered Turkey Trot organizers the use of Glenn Loomis next to Thirlby Field as an indoor facility for race registration. They also said dogs could participate in past events, though pets are not allowed on Thirlby’s artificial turf. At their September 11 meeting, board members noted TCAPS has used district resources to support the Turkey Trot, contributed staff time and student volunteers to the event, and attracted employees and parents to participate as runners. Frustration over conflicting accounts about the reason for the race’s move and its potential future impact on LEAP – which already lost $10,000 in funding this year after TCAPS was ordered to remove Thirlby banner ads facing Thirteenth Street – caused board members to discuss boycotting Turkey Trot and/or creating a separate TCAPS event.

“At what point are we justified in asking our friends to start boycotting Turkey Trot?” asked board member Jan Geht. Soma responded that he would “stay away from that personally,” but that he understood “the frustration level is that high, that perhaps we have our own Turkey Trot.” Other board members also expressed support for putting on a separate event that could act as a dedicated fundraiser for the LEAP program, citing concerns about the potential loss in student scholarships to the program in future years. TCAPS Spokersperson Christine Guitar says the district could potentially create an event as soon as this year, though that decision will be up to board members. “Maybe we create a different event for LEAP that involves community partners who are like-minded and want to do something for kids,” Guitar says.

Hagerty declined to comment on the possibility of TCAPS creating its own race or event, saying his focus is on planning the Turkey Trot. “I just want to put on an event that does great things for the community,” he says.

Photo credit: Turkey Trot