Saturday 13th September 2009 saw the second annual Cotton Pickin 5K run and the first annual cotton candy 1K fun run in Somerville, TN.

As a proud sponsor of the event I had the privilege of photographing the event for Fayette Cares, which is also Merrick Photography’s chosen local charity.

Here is a photograph of the overall winner of the 5K race, which saw almost 300 runners take part this year.

If you ran in the race and would like to see the finished photographs, please go to www.collages.net and login with the username “cotton pickin run 2009″ and password “21925″.

The 1st annual Cotton Pickin’ 5K Run/Walk to benefit Fayette Cares was held on the morning of Saturday 13th September 2008.

The response to the race was simply astounding! No one expected more than 200 participants, but over 300 people took part!! Must have been the amazing weather that brought people out at the last minute.

I had a great time photographing this wonderful event and I was so happy to be able to donate my time to such a very worthy and local organization.

My 16 year old stepson, Tim Reaves, took part in the race too, and here’s a photograph of him crossing the finishing line. We’re all very proud of him for participating and finishing so well.

Indeed, everyone that turned out on Saturday deserves a well-earned pat on the back!

The photographs from the event can be viewed at Collages.Net where the username is “cotton pickin run” and the password is 21925.

A portion of the photograph sales will also be donated to Fayette Cares.

On Friday 5th September at 11am, Fayette Cares held a ribbon cutting ceremony at Hope’s Cottage in Somerville, TN.

I was honoured to be asked to be the official photographer for this event, which was attended by many of the gracious sponsors and several local dignitaries, including state representative candidate, Dolores Gresham.

I am proud to be a sponsor of this worthwhile organization and to support them in whatever way I can through my photography. For more information on Fayette Cares, the ceremony and Hope’s Cottage, visit their web site at Fayette Cares.

I am always looking for ways to give back to the local community and so I’m proud to announce my support as a sponsor of the Cotton Pickin’ 5K Run/Walk to benefit Fayette Cares.

As the official photographer for this event on September 13th 2008, I will be there to document the race, the particpants, winners and atmosphere of this new annual event.

It promises to be a lot of fun!

More information on the event, including registration information can be found at:

http://www.fayettecares.org/templates/cusfayettecares/details.asp?id=29782&PID=584796

Images from the event will be available online at my online proofing provide, Collages.Net, which can be found here:

http://www.collages.net

You can pre-register to view photographs from the event with the following username & password:

Username: Cotton Pickin Run

Password: 21925