The 15th annual Walt Disney World Marathon in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, January 11 - 13, drew more than 16,500 athletes for the 1/2 marathon, Saturday, and 18,000 athletes for the 26.2-mile trek, Sunday, through the Walt Disney World theme parks.
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Walt Disney World Marathon Draws Record Crowd
By Betty Moore, SLFP.com
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL, (SLFP.com), January 13, 2008 - The much anticipated 15th annual Walt Disney World Marathon was even more magical this year as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training® (TNT) kicked off the first of many sporting programs celebrating twenty years of fundraising for blood cancer research and patient services.
The program provides training to run or walk marathons and half marathons or participate in triathlons and century (100-mile) bike rides.
Team coaches from the Canadian TNT team cheer for the participants and their guests as they entered the Pasta Party, Friday, at the Epcot Center prior to the marathon.
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The acclaimed family-friendly event at Walt Disney World drew more than 16,500 athletes for the half marathon, Saturday, and a record 18,000 athletes for the 26.2-mile trek, Sunday. Teams from chapters across the country and Canada joined in the fun to honor loved ones, reunite with alumnus, and share their stories and memories.
Following a sports expo and Pasta Party, team members met with their coaches to prepare for the races, while family members headed off to the theme parks or swimming pools.
Pyrotechnics signaled the start of the half marathon early Saturday morning under balmy skies. Music was everywhere, provided by live bands that filled the air with many beats and sounds to help keep the pace for fast walking, running and laughing over a flat course that wound through Epcot Center, the Magic Kingdom and Disney MGM Studios.
Along the way, the participants were greeted by Walt Disney characters, cheered on by thousands of families, friends, volunteers, coaches and mentors who provided water and other essentials.
At the finish line, team members were met with big hugs from their kids and friends. With the exception of a slight mixup at the finish of the half marathon when a pallet of medals could not be found, the smiles and congratulations was more than enough to make the months of training and sacrifice worth the effort.
Twenty years ago, a group of athletes from the New York area hired a coach and trained for the New York City Marathon while raising money for blood cancer research. Since that first team crossed the finish line, more than 340,000 TNT participants have raised more than $800 million for blood cancer research and patient services.
The Gateway Chapter, which raised over $159,089, sent 34 participants, along with 3 coaches and 1 staff person. The first sporting event of 2008 at Walt Disney World, raised over $5.6 million, setting a benchmark for TNT's goal on reaching the $1 billion mark by the end of their 20th anniversary celebration year.
National sponsors for the Walt Disney World Marathon included Runner's World, NIKE, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Seagate, PowerBar and American Airlines. For more information on TNT, visit www.teamintraining.org
The Gateway Chapter of Team in Training (TNT) sent 34 participants to the 15th annual Walt Disney World Marathon.
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Southwest Airlines Adds New Flights in Key Markets
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), January 13, 2008 - Through the elimination of 57 existing roundtrip flights from its May flight schedule, Southwest today will add 40 roundtrip flights in key growth markets such as Denver and St. Louis. Many of the changes will be seasonal to accommodate peak summer demand.
"Southwest Airlines is concerned about slowing economic growth, and we want our flight schedule to be built around flights that are in high demand," said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Officer. "Our Employees continually evaluate our flights to see how we can offer our Customers the most efficient flight schedule in the business."
Southwest Airlines is offering special fares for all new nonstop service. Fares are as low as $79 one-way with a 14-day advance purchase and as low as $99 one-way with a 21-day advance purchase. Fares apply only to new service.
"Southwest is intent on strategically changing its flight schedule in 2008 to reflect demand and grow revenue -- even adding seasonal flights when we can," Kelly said. "We've improved our boarding procedures and updated our gate areas to make our Customers more productive, and we look forward to 2008 as being one of the most productive yet for Southwest Airlines."
Southwest is the only U.S. airline to remain consistently profitable this decade, and enjoys an unprecedented string of 34 consecutive years of profitability. Southwest has a low cost structure, strong balance sheet, and the most comprehensive fuel hedge of any major U.S. airline.
St. Louis Ranked As One of America's Most Literate Cities
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), January 13, 2008 - The St. Louis Public Library has announce that for the fourth straight year it has helped the Gateway City score big in the rankings of America's Most Literate Cities.
For 2007, the St. Louis Public Library finished with an impressive Second-Place ranking in the Library Category. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Center for Public Policy and Social Research at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and was authored by CCSU President Dr. John W. Miller.
The City of St. Louis finished an impressive 6th overall (up from 12th in 2006) among the 69 largest cities (populations of 250,000 or greater) in the nation.
The America's Most Literate Cities study attempts to capture one critical index of our nation's health-the literacy of its major cities. The study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources (introduced in 2005 to gauge the expansion of literacy to online media).
St. Louis Public Library Executive Director, Waller McGuire, noted, "It is a great honor to lead the St. Louis Public Library-one of the very best in America, which means the world. This is the fourth straight year the St. Louis Public Library has been named as one of the top three public libraries in the nation."
America's Most Literate Cities study was first published online in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Says Dr. John W. Miller, author of the study, "From the data, we can better perceive the extent and quality of the long-term literacy essential to individual economic success, civic participation, and the quality of life in a community and a nation."
Budget Leaders Announce State Revenue Estimates
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), January 13, 2008 - Gov. Matt Blunt, Sen. Gary Nodler and Rep. Allen Icet have reached an agreement on the amount of revenue the state is estimated to collect to support its Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 budget. The agreed estimate will be used to define the state's spending priorities for the coming year.
"Our success in turning a $1.1 billion deficit my administration inherited into three surpluses in a row without raising taxes is getting results," Gov. Blunt said. "Missourians can be proud that their elected leaders have worked to craft a budget they can afford by reducing spending while also increasing funding for education, supporting health care for low income Missourians, cutting taxes for Missouri families."
"As someone who spent his first and second years in the General Assembly experiencing back-to-back revenue deficits from the previous administration it is encouraging and refreshing to have consistent and sound revenue growth," said Senate Appropriations Chair Gary Nodler.
"We understand that this money comes from the taxpayers. Missouri's economy is strong because of the changes we have made and we have a responsibility to be wise stewards of the taxpayer's money," said House Budget Chair Allen Icet.
Gov. Blunt, Senate Appropriations Chair Gary Nodler and House Budget Chair Allen Icet agreed that the state's general revenue fund should take in more than $7.956 billion, a net growth of 3.1 percent for FY 2008, which ends June 30, 2008 and $8.229 billion for FY 2009, which begins July 1, 2008 and ends June 30, 2009, an increase of 3.4 percent.
Gov. Blunt will announce his budget and legislative priorities in his annual State of the State address scheduled for Tuesday, January 15, at 7 p.m. The House and Senate Budget Committees will consider the governor's recommendations and approve related budget bills in the coming months.
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