Dwight Griner of Berrien County, Georgia won for the fifth time. A dozen other boats received prizes, as a record number of people paddled in the Fifth Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, April 29, 2017. Tifton and Tift County had the most paddlers, but the awards show more boats from Moultrie and Colquitt County. Lowndes had the second most paddlers, and there were two people each from Cook and from far-away Houston and Harris Counties, and one from Thomas County.

This year’s BLRPR included three popular new attractions:

Lunch grilled on the spot

A silent auction

A kayak raffle

Perhaps the food was the most popular, since everyone was hungry after racing (or leisurely paddling) down the beautiful blackwater Little River beneath cypress and pines in the springtime.

This was an all-hands-on-deck event for WWALS: every board member and many others too numerous to mention helped in some way, and of course Friends of Reed Bingham (FORB) and the park rangers at Reed Bingham State Park.

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman said,

“In addition to thanking the most important people, those who paddled, I would especially like to call out the BLRPR mastermind, Bret Wagenhorst; the president of FORB, Diane Walters; and Phil Hubbard, who was involved in more ways than almost anyone else. And of course the Sponsors, several of whom contributed items for the silent auction:”

Cook Family Wellness Center & Convenient Care Clinic

Phil Hubbard

Dr. Bret Wagenhorst, eye M.D.

Wilson Eye Center

Wild Adventures Theme Park

Academy Sports

South Georgia Pecan

The Potters

Many people bought tickets for the kayak raffle. You can still get your raffle tickets online. The drawing will be at the WWALS Annual Meeting, 7PM Wednesday July 12, 2017, in Valdosta, GA. You do not have to be present to win, but you will be responsible for picking up the kayak if you win.

Table of Paddlers and Winners

Place    Time    Name    Category    Award    City    County    State

2017 BIG Little Paddle Race Results

1.    40:38    Dwight Griner    solo M kayak    overall    West Berrien    Berrien    GA

2.    45:47    Jay York    solo M kayak    1st SMK    Adel    Cook    GA

3.    48:17    Phil Hubbard    solo M kayak   Valdosta    Lowndes    GA

4.    48:32    Tom Potter    solo M kayak   Valdosta    Lowndes    GA

5.    49:53    Tim Robinson    solo M kayak   Moultrie    Colquitt    GA

6.    58:30    Ray Cummings    solo M canoe    1st SMC    Moultrie    Colquitt    GA

7.    58:55    Beatriz Potter    solo F kayak    1st SFK    Valdosta    Lowndes    GA

8.    58:56    Nikki York    solo F kayak   Adel    Cook    GA

9.    59:09    Jessica Brumfield & Kirby Smith    MF tandem kayak    1st MFTK    Moultrie    Colquitt    GA

10.    1:01:50    Dan Phillips    solo M kayak   Hahira    Lowndes    GA

11.    1:02:50    Wes Hubbard    solo M kayak   Valdosta    Lowndes    GA

12.    1:06:50    Woody Weeks & Anthony Weeks    MM tandem kayak    1st MTK    Moultrie    Colquitt GA

?.    1:08:40    F olive kayak pink shirt    solo F kayak   ?    ?    ?

13.    1:09:45    Marco Hur & Michael Magat    MM tandem kayak   Moultrie    Colquitt    GA

14.    1:11:37    Ray and Patty Barber    MF tandem canoe    1st MFTC    Tifton    Tift    GA

15.    1:13:38    Kelly Dekle & Paul Horst    MF tandem kayak   Tifton    Tift    GA

16.    1:14:23    Winfred Dowdy    solo M kayak   Valdosta    Lowndes    GA

17.    1:14:33    Michasia Dowdy    solo F kayak   Valdosta    Lowndes    GA

18.    1:15:21    Glen & Mary Harris    MF tandem canoe   Tifton    Tift    GA

?.    1:16:28    M olive kayak blue shirt    solo M kayak   ?    ?    ?

?.    1:16:45    F blue kayak black shirt    solo F kayak   ?    ?    ?

?.    1:17:07    M yellow orange kayak black shirt    solo M kayak   ?    ?    ?

19.    1:18:42    Judy Shiflett & Lily Robinson    FF tandem kayak    1st FTK    Tifton    Tift    GA

20.    1:18:52    Megan Robinson    solo F kayak   Tifton    Tift    GA

21.    1:19:52    Carrie Vickers    solo F kayak   Tifton    Tift    GA

22.    1:19:59    Brentley Yamnitz    solo F kayak   Tifton    Tift    GA

23.    1:21:20    Karen & Tom Johnson    MF tandem canoe    farthest    Pine Mtn    Harris    GA

24.    1:21:40    John S. Quarterman    solo M kayak   Hahira    Lowndes    GA

25.    1:22:55    Alton Burns    solo M canoe   Coolidge    Thomas    GA

26.    1:23:10    Scott James & girls    MFF 3P canoe    1st 3C    Valdosta    Lowndes    GA

27.    1:23:26    Kailey James    solo F kayak   Valdosta    Lowndes    GA

28.    1:27:02    Jaree Bush    solo F kayak    youngest    Lake Park    Lowndes    GA

29.    1:27:11    Dallas Bush    solo M kayak   Lake Park    Lowndes    GA

30.    1:31:26    Sam & Sherri Wright    MF tandem canoe   Tifton    Tift    GA

31.    1:32:28    Presley & Ashley Vickers    MF tandem kayak  Tifton    Tift    GA

32.    1:32:15    Laura Kate Wright    solo F kayak  Tifton    Tift    GA

33.    1:32:45    Larry, Alex, Amber Ogden    MMF 3P canoe  Valdosta    Lowndes    GA

34.    1:32:35    Luke and Colt Key    MM tandem canoe    1st MMTC    Moultrie    Colquitt    GA

35.    1:34:17    Gonzalo Olguin    solo M kayak   Omega    Tift    GA

36.    1:56:39    Randy Wall    solo M kayak   Warner Robins    Houston    GA

37.    1:56:58    Tracey Wall    solo F kayak   Warner Robins    Houston    GA

38.    2:??:??    James & Jerry Walker    MF tandem canoe    slowest & oldest    Tifton    Tift    GA

Curiously there were no entrants from Berrien or Brooks or Lanier Counties, Georgia, and none from Florida. Looks like WWALS also needs to hold a paddle race on the Suwannee River in Florida. Maybe we’ll do that this fall.