Run/Walk BOOM!!! Races Won't be Renamed, For Now

The name of the second annual Huntington Woods fireworks fundraiser, Run/Walk BOOM!!!, will remain unchanged this year. Following the Boston Marathon bombings, the event planning committee looked at changing the 1-mile and 5K races' name. 

A single question survey was posted on the event’s website, www.RunWalkBOOM.com from April 20 through May 7.

“The feedback gave us a pretty good idea of how the community feels about the issue,” committee member Alex Cooper said.

Here’s a survey summary:

• 215 respondents.
• 139 (65 percent) were from Huntington Woods.
• 65 percent of all respondents answered no to changing the event name.
• 56 percent of Huntington Woods respondents answered no.
• 75 percent of non-Huntington Woods respondents answered no.

“While the people of Boston have been dealing directly with the tragedy, we’ve been indirectly placed in the middle of a very unfortunate situation,” Cooper said. “The survey shows the majority of people support keeping the name while some folks would like it changed. Our committee wants to do the right thing.”

There will be a moment of silence before the June 29 events start to honor and pay tribute to the people and families impacted by the tragedy.  

Last year’s inaugural Run/Walk BOOM!!! event raised more than $9,000 and had over 400 participants and volunteers. The Huntington Woods Men’s Club paid the balance of the $13,500 fireworks costs.

The event name will be re-examined later this year by the committee which is comprised of nine Huntington Woods residents plus the city manager.

Source: Run/Walk BOOM!!! Committee