Mother Nature doesn't always cooperate, but the weather conditions that prevailed for the 16th annual David Lerner Associates Police Appreciation Run on Thursday evening, June 14 could have been a lot worse. Cloudy skies and a "runner friendly cool" start marked the evening, and a nice crowd of runners and walkers started following Kevin McQuillan helping us to honor America by singing our National Anthem.

Runners from the Plainview-Old Bethpage and Syosset-Woodbury communities were especially prominent in the 2007 edition of the Run. Top local finishers included Amara Correll of Syosset, who took third place among the women in the 15-19 age group, Riki Hirsch of Syosset, who earned 2nd place honors among the women in the 20-24 age group, Kim Solomine of Syosset, who was the third place finisher among the women in the 50-54 age group, Constance Sehlmeyer of Woodbury, who scored third among the women in the 60-64 age group, Odd Sangesland of Plainview, who finished second in the 75-79 age group, Bert Jablon of Syosset, who was the top finish in the 80 and over age group.

Congratulations and thanks to Run Director Ira Eskow a longtime resident of Woodbury, who has been the director of this event from the beginning, and to our good friends from the Syosset - based investment firm of David Lerner Associates for making this important event possible. A special thank you to former Oyster Bay Town Councilman Len Symons who presented a Certificate to our friends from David Lerner Associates to honor their most welcome support, and to Nassau County Legislator David Mejias for his keynote speech at the starting line. Congratulations and thanks to John Snitko of JMS Racing Services for his technical support, and to Kozy Shack & Entenmann's for their kind donation of refreshments for the event.

All the returns aren't in yet, but the Run certainly raised a considerable amount of money for the Police Crisis Fund that provides financial assistance to local police officers and their families in times of personal emergency. Now more than ever, we can and should show our appreciation for the outstanding men and women who staff our local police departments. Contributions to the Fund are always welcome. Please call the Club office at (516) 349-7646 for more information.