Firecracker Four-Miler and Fun Run
Thousands Run and Watch the Annual Event, Raising $42,000 for Scholarships
The Firecracker Four-Miler and Fun Run kicked off Cranford’s Independence Day in a big way with almost 1,500 participants and hundreds more spectators and supporters cheering them on.
The race, organized by the Cranford Jaycees, has been held annually since 1979, drawing runners from across the state for the one mile fun run and four mile road race with participants ranging from ages 3 to 83. The fun run had its largest crowd ever with more than 450 participants, 30% more than last year.
“The Firecracker has become a town tradition, and the Jaycees feel fortunate that so many people start their holiday by being a part of it,” said Dave Farrell, who co-chaired the event with Roger Imhof.
Cameron Janovic, 21, of Oceanport won the four-miler event with a time of 19:54.3. Kristen Prendergast, 41, of Annandale was the top female finisher at 23:54.2. The top male and female finishers in the one-mile fun run–Caleb Goldblatt, 12, and Bella Giudice, 13–were both from Cranford.
The event is a fundraiser for the Jaycees scholarship fund. In June, the group awarded their largest amount of scholarships ever – totaling $42,000 – to graduating Cranford seniors: Sofia Bongiovanni, Anthony Bottino, Emily Cavanna, Erin Coates, Seth Epstein, Logan Gard, Catarina Guimaraes, Tess Hagstrom, Theresa Hickey, Ariel Hsu, Amelia Hunt, Ariadne Mahadeo, Owen Maher, Gianna Melise, Zara Mendes, Natalia Onisko, Kelsey Quinones, Ethan Sachs, Emily Santulli, and Joshua Schwartz.
For the first time, two scholarships were awarded to students planning to attend trade school: James Zambito and Joel Beltran. This expansion of the scholarship program was championed by Danny Ghanime, owner of Brighton Air Corp and title sponsor of the Firecracker event, who says, “I found my way through trade, and now I want to help other kids, who may feel like they don’t fit into the traditional post-graduation route, find their way, too, and land a good paying job.” Zambito will be attending trade school locally, while Beltran is focusing on electrical/electronics at Lincoln Tech.
The Cranford Jaycees next major event will be Oktoberfest, which returns to Union College on October 1st. Tickets go on sale in early-September.
Photos by Cranford Jaycees
