World Class Triathletes Jarrod Shoemaker and Sarah Groff to Ride in Krempels King of the Road Challenge

PORTSMOUTH—

Event organizers are pleased to announce that Jarrod Shoemaker, the top ranked American triathlete in the world and current national champion, and Sarah Groff, World Championship Series athlete and 2012 Olympics-bound triathlete, will join other riders at the inaugural Krempels King of the Road Challenge to be held October 15.
In 2009, Jarrod won the Duathlon World Championship and Hamburg World Championship Series race. After attending Dartmouth College (‘04) – where he ran cross country and track and won an Ivy League Cross Country Championship – Jarrod turned his attention to triathlon, and in 2005, won the Under 23 World Championship. He followed that up by finishing 18th at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He currently lives in Maynard, MA.
Sarah Groff is an internationally-ranked triathlete and a member of the US Elite National Team. In early September she won the Bronze Medal for the overall 2011 World Championship Series in Beijing, China. This caps an incredible year for Sarah as she has proved herself to be the top American triathlete. This year, Sarah has posted five top 10 finishes in World Championship Series races, the first ever podium finish by an American woman in a WCS race, qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games and earned the first ever American medal for the overall World Championship Series.
Sarah was a double major in conservation biology and studio art at Middlebury College, graduating cum laude and with highest honors in art. When finished with triathlon, she plans on going into environmental law. She lives in Hanover, NH.
The Krempels King of the Road Challenge is a fundraising ride to benefit the Krempels Center, a Portsmouth-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with brain injury from trauma, tumor or stroke. This event has a special connection to the King family, through the local cycle-racing legends Robbie and Teddy King, who are actively involved with supporting the event. Riders of all abilities are welcome to participate.
More information about the Krempels King of the Road Challenge can be found at www.kingchallenge.org.
Photo caption: Jarrod Shoemaker, world champion and Olympic triathlon participant, will participate in the Krempels King of the Road Challenge on October 15. (Courtesy photo)

Efforts Raise Funds to Support Operation Christmas Child

HAMPTON FALLS—

Local volunteers with Operation Christmas Child (OCC) took to the raceways on a recent summer weekend when they trekked to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon for a unique fund-raising opportunity.
“It was great,” said Larry Marshall, a self-described “die-hard race fan” and OCC volunteer who was instrumental in arranging the effort.
A total of 14 volunteers, most of them from Hampton Falls First Baptist Church, traveled to Loudon in mid-August, having undergone a training session at the popular race track just a week earlier.
Once there, they served as screeners, welcoming guests at the gates to the speedway and making sure that no unauthorized objects, such as glass bottles and umbrellas, were brought into the stands.
According to Marshall, the fundraising came in the form of each volunteer “earning” seven dollars per hour in their capacity as screeners. The group put in an approximate 10-hour day.
Each hourly wage that was earned will help to process and ship a gift-filled shoebox that will eventually be given to a hurting child through Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse.
Since 1993, OCC has hand-delivered shoebox gifts to more than 86 million hurting children overseas. To make this ministry work, participants fill shoeboxes with an assortment of school supplies and toys which are then shipped and distributed to kids in some 130 countries.
Marshall’s group of volunteers earned enough funds to process and ship a couple hundred shoeboxes, which they plan to fill with hundreds of donated items at their annual “Packing Party” in October.
“The real blessing in our eyes is more than just the money,” said Marshall. “It’s the fellowship – getting to know people from this church that I didn’t know before, and getting a new couple to join us. We also gave away some OCC material.”
That material included information about OCC’s shoebox ministry and how to pack a gift-filled shoebox; details can be found at www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.
The OCC team got rave reviews from their fund-raising partners at NH Motor Speedway.
“The track loved us,” said Marshall. “The supervisors told us we did a really good job, and invited us back for the September race.”
As far as the volunteers were concerned, “Everybody had such a great time – they really want to go back again,” said Marshall. “Something tells me this might become an annual thing.”
Filling shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child is also “an annual thing” that everyone can do – families, churches, scout troops, community groups and businesses can all take an active part.
Once the items have been purchased, simply fill the shoeboxes (cardboard or plastic) with an assortment of school supplies, toys, personal items (comb, toothbrush and toothpaste, facecloth, etc.) and, if desired, a letter of encouragement.
Then, when National Collection Week comes around (this year it’s November 14-21), drop off the gift boxes at a collection site near you. The local collection site in this region is at the Hampton Falls First Baptist Church, located at the junction of Routes 1-88 in Hampton Falls, across from the town common.
Detailed step-by-step shoe-
box packing instructions are available at www.samaritanspurse.org/occ. For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call (800) 353-5949 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.
Photo caption: Members of the Southern New Hampshire Area OCC Team gathered for photos before welcoming guests to the NH Motor Speedway. Pictured here is part of the group of 14 volunteers who took part in the fund raising effort. (Courtesy photo)

Farmers’ Market Food and Fun

ROLLINSFORD—
A Farmers’ Market Breakfast, a Farmers’ Market, and a daylong celebration of fall fun, tailored to the whole family, will be held at The Wentworth Greenhouses in Rollinsford this weekend.
In addition to the weekly Farmers’ Markets, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, a special Farmers’ Market Breakfast will be served from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 8. Both the Farmers’ Market and Farmers’ Market Breakfast will be held indoors in the Greenhouses.
Breakfast will be served, courtesy of Want Waffles, Inc. and will feature a choice of sweet crepes (stuffed with caramelized apples, and topped with whipped cream, and a side of homemade sausage), savory crepes (filled with ground sausage, red onions, oyster mushrooms, a white sauce and 6 Italian cheeses), or Traditional Belgium Waffles (served with whipped cream, a blueberry compote, and a side of breakfast sausage links). Coffee, tea, and fresh apple cider is included in the breakfast.
Seventeen vendors, food producers, and craftsmen will be participating in Saturday’s Market. Those vendors contributing breakfast ingredients in direct support of the breakfast include Lasting Legacy Farm (farm fresh sausage), The Root Seller (red onions and home made Maple Sugar), Pawtuckaway Mushrooms (Oyster Mushrooms), Hackleboro Orchard (blueberries, apples, and apple cider), Anderson’s Mini Maples (NH Maple Syrup), Want Waffles, Inc. (the preparation and serving of the Crepes and waffles), and Greenleaf Farms (providing fresh cut flowers and table arrangements). The full gourmet breakfast is priced at $10, with $1 off coupons available to anyone wishing one through Wentworth Greenhouses prior to the breakfast.
Special guest artist and face painter Linda Weiser will also be part of Saturday’s Market, and will offer her face painting services throughout the duration of the Market.
Visitors to the Market will also be able purchase hand spun wool and dyed yarns from Patti Parrott of Green Parrott Designs, from Wendy Berry of Lasting Legacy Farm, or from Jon and Heidi West, who once again will be bringing their llamas to the Market for visitors who may have questions about raising llamas or wish to learn about the process of harvesting wool. Other farm animals slated to be part of Saturday’s Market include angora rabbits and a pig, as well as perhaps even a sheep or goat.
Additional activities scheduled throughout the day include workshops on Pumpkin Vase Flower Arranging with Deborah Sousane of Greenleaf Farms, and Learning to Make Scarecrows. A Pie Baking Contest that is open to the public will also be held. Pies must be submitted by Saturday, October 8 at noon. The winner will be awarded a $75 gift card good at Wentworth Greenhouses.
For guidelines about the Pie Baking Contest, or for more information about the Breakfast, the Farmers’ Market, or any of the day’s many scheduled activities, please call the Greenhouses at 73-4919, or visit www.wentworthgreenhouses.com.