"Ratt" Race to honor Pieratt, raise money for scholarship
Wednesday - July 8, 2009
Ryan Peverly - Staff Writer – Register-Herald
Steve Pieratt passed away unexpectedly in September 2007 at the age of 48, but his memory continues to live on with the creation of the Steve Pieratt Memorial Scholarship Fund, and now with the "Ratt" 5K Race/Walk, being held for the first time on Saturday, July 11, starting at 9 a.m. at Eaton High School. The event is being planned by the Pieratt family and the Eaton Cross Country Parent Organization.
"We started the race because my dad always wanted to give back - he was always a giver and never took much from people," son Blake
Pieratt said. "He fell in love with cross country when I started running and saw the enthusiasm everyone put into the sport. He was never a runner but would always tell someone, "Run one for me,' and we're doing that with the Ratt Race."
"We had a large number of donations made to the cross country program after Steve's death and what we did was put that money aside and, along with the family and a few friends, decided the best use of the money would be to start a scholarship," Eaton cross country coach Randy McKinney said. "We gave away the first one this year, but we also thought about what we could do to keep the scholarship going long-term and this was one of the ideas we had."
Pieratt said the intention is to keep funding the scholarship with proceeds from the race, which will be an annual event, according to both him and McKinney.
"(My dad) was all about the kids," Pieratt said. "Anything he could do to help the kids, he did. He was always involved in anything he
could get involved in. We started the memorial scholarship with that in mind, to give back to the kids because that's what he always did."
Approximately 105 runners and walkers have registered for the event. Registration is still open on race day from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and costs
$20. For more information on the "Ratt" 5K Race/Walk, including registration and donation forms, visit www.rattrace.org.
For both Pieratt and McKinney, honoring Steve's memory by creating a scholarship for a graduating high school senior and the "Ratt" Race is a bittersweet feeling.
"Steve meant a lot of different things to the community," McKinney said. "He had many different things he was involved in because his kids were involved in them, but even after they moved through and moved on, he'd still help out. He was a friend to a lot of people, and anything he could to do to help kids, he'd do. He was very dedicated to that.
"He was a delight to be around and great at helping organize people and getting things done. There was something he said quite often: "It's about the kids,' and everything Steve did was about the kids, and that's one of the motives behind trying to create something that'd be
long-lasting in his memory to help kids.
"It's tough, but it's a real honor to create and begin something like this. It's a nice way of letting what Steve stood for be put out there and continue," McKinney added.
"You can't put it into words how much it means to me and my family for my dad's name to live on," Pieratt said. "It makes me all emotional thinking about it. People understand what he did and why he did it.
"This tradition will live on for a long time, as long as I'm living. It's incredible. It's hard to believe all these people will come out and support this, but he touched so many people in his short life. It's just an honor to start this tradition for my dad and we want to keep it going on as long as we can."
Ryan Peverly - Staff Writer – Register-Herald
Steve Pieratt passed away unexpectedly in September 2007 at the age of 48, but his memory continues to live on with the creation of the Steve Pieratt Memorial Scholarship Fund, and now with the "Ratt" 5K Race/Walk, being held for the first time on Saturday, July 11, starting at 9 a.m. at Eaton High School. The event is being planned by the Pieratt family and the Eaton Cross Country Parent Organization.
"We started the race because my dad always wanted to give back - he was always a giver and never took much from people," son Blake
Pieratt said. "He fell in love with cross country when I started running and saw the enthusiasm everyone put into the sport. He was never a runner but would always tell someone, "Run one for me,' and we're doing that with the Ratt Race."
"We had a large number of donations made to the cross country program after Steve's death and what we did was put that money aside and, along with the family and a few friends, decided the best use of the money would be to start a scholarship," Eaton cross country coach Randy McKinney said. "We gave away the first one this year, but we also thought about what we could do to keep the scholarship going long-term and this was one of the ideas we had."
Pieratt said the intention is to keep funding the scholarship with proceeds from the race, which will be an annual event, according to both him and McKinney.
"(My dad) was all about the kids," Pieratt said. "Anything he could do to help the kids, he did. He was always involved in anything he
could get involved in. We started the memorial scholarship with that in mind, to give back to the kids because that's what he always did."
Approximately 105 runners and walkers have registered for the event. Registration is still open on race day from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and costs
$20. For more information on the "Ratt" 5K Race/Walk, including registration and donation forms, visit www.rattrace.org.
For both Pieratt and McKinney, honoring Steve's memory by creating a scholarship for a graduating high school senior and the "Ratt" Race is a bittersweet feeling.
"Steve meant a lot of different things to the community," McKinney said. "He had many different things he was involved in because his kids were involved in them, but even after they moved through and moved on, he'd still help out. He was a friend to a lot of people, and anything he could to do to help kids, he'd do. He was very dedicated to that.
"He was a delight to be around and great at helping organize people and getting things done. There was something he said quite often: "It's about the kids,' and everything Steve did was about the kids, and that's one of the motives behind trying to create something that'd be
long-lasting in his memory to help kids.
"It's tough, but it's a real honor to create and begin something like this. It's a nice way of letting what Steve stood for be put out there and continue," McKinney added.
"You can't put it into words how much it means to me and my family for my dad's name to live on," Pieratt said. "It makes me all emotional thinking about it. People understand what he did and why he did it.
"This tradition will live on for a long time, as long as I'm living. It's incredible. It's hard to believe all these people will come out and support this, but he touched so many people in his short life. It's just an honor to start this tradition for my dad and we want to keep it going on as long as we can."
"Ratt Race" Honors Memory
Wednesday – July 15, 2009
Ryan Peverly \Register Herald Staff Writer
Some 188 runners and walkers participated in the "Ratt Race" 5K Run/Walk in memory of EatonianSteve Pieratt on Saturday, July 11, in Eaton. All proceeds from the event went to the Steve Pieratt Memorial Scholarship Fund. The event was hosted by the Pieratt family and the Eaton Cross Country Parent Organization.
"It was a great turnout for the first time," Eaton cross country coach Randy McKinney said. "A great day for the cause. Everyone was there because they knew Steve and knew the family. We had people 4- to 77- years-old who participated, and it was neat seeing the age variance of the participants."
"We're really pleased with how the day went day overall," son Blake Pieratt said. "We're pleased with the turnout. I can't describe the feeling I had. For all those people to support us and what we created, it means a lot to me and my family. Everything went well, and we
had a lot of support. I'm very pleased and so was my family. We're all very happy. Such a great turnout."
Winners from the race/walk included:
• Overall: Todd Hewitt, 17:02
• 1st female: Megan Ball, 21:41
• 40 & over Masters Male: Gary Walker,24:21
• 40 & over Master Female: Julie Robbins, 24:21
"It wasfor a good cause, and it was a lot of fun," McKinney said. "Everyone there involved contributed to a positive atmosphere. It was a great day even though we'd rather not be doing that in Steve's memory."
Pieratt passed away unexpectedly in September 2007 at the age of 48.
Further results and photos can be seen at www.rattrace.org.
