By CHARMAINE SMITH Anderson Independent-Mail August 15, 2005
When Monday dawned and "The Raising Race" was over, Kelly McCorkle knew the event was a success by the number of e-mails and phone messages she had.
Most of those messages told Ms. McCorkle one thing: The race was such a great event, it needed to happen again.
"When the final team came in, I just began to cry," said Ms. McCorkle, an Upstate resident and former Miss South Carolina. "I am still floating from all of the great things that happened this weekend. I am so excited. We are definitely going to do this again."
The goal was to raise money for the construction of a third cottage for the Calvary Home for Children and to keep the spotlight on the death of former Miss Williamston Leslie Ann Mazzara ? Ms. McCorkle ?s best friend and a champion for abused children.
Ms. Mazzara was killed in her Napa, Calif., apartment on Nov. 1, 2004. Police have no suspects in the case.
Ms. McCorkle and a committee of Ms. Mazzara ?s friends and family organized "The Raising Race" in the space of two months.
The race, similar to the CBS reality TV show "The Amazing Race," pitted teams against each other in a scavenger hunt across Anderson County.
Contestants from "The Amazing Race" attended the event, met their counterparts in "The Raising Race" and greeted fans.
Ms. McCorkle said an estimated $65,000 was raised during the two-day event ? with $15,000 of that coming from donations, ticket sales and autograph sales gathered on Saturday alone.
In all, $500,000 is needed to build the Calvary Home for Children cottage, but construction can begin when the organization raises $250,000, Ms. McCorkle said.
Ms. McCorkle said "The Raising Race" organizing committee is to meet in a couple of weeks to see when and where to hold the next race. She anticipates the race could include the Upstate and possibly the rest of the state.
"And who knows, maybe one day we can go nationwide," she said.
Charmaine Smith can be reached at (864) 260-1269 or by e-mail at smithca@IndependentMail.com.
