More than 500 people registered for the fourth annual Trooper Kevin Conner Memorial Run Saturday morning. The 5k and 1 mile races started at the corner of Columbus and Madison streets. The event marked the fourth anniversary of Trooper Keven Conner’s death on Oct. 17, 2018.
The fundraiser supported two $5,000 scholarships that went to Peyton Blosser of Columbus County and Kayla Norris of Bladen County. Blosser is a paper science and chemical engineering major at N.C. State University.
“I just want to thank the scholarship foundation for the honor to remember Kevin Conner’s legacy,” Blosser said.
Norris is majoring in animal science at N.C. State University and has plans to become a large animal veterinarian.
“I, unfortunately, did not know Kevin, but there is no doubt the impact he has left. But I am honored and blessed to hold the recipient for Bladen County,” Norris said.
Miranda Conner Ellington said the memorial run was “very successful” with a “beautiful day” and “good turn-out.”
“It’s always nice to honor Kevin’s life,” Conner Ellington said. “I want to thank everyone for their support every year with so many sponsors and volunteers. We certainly could not do it without everybody coming together and joining forces and working hard.”
Conner Ellington said that every scholarship recipient has attended N.C. State University. She joked that Conner’s love for “everything N.C. State” has jinxed the scholarship award favoring an N.C. State university student.
She said the Kevin Conner Memorial Foundation plans to create a new scholarship that is open to any high school senior with parents in law enforcement in North Carolina. So far, the foundation has awarded $40,000 in scholarships to high school seniors.
The top three finishers for the male and female racers are as follows:
