JoAnn Lucarelli and her husband Bob with Santiva Morrrison, our local coordinator for the Peace Run in Lake Mary and Orlando area of Florida. JoAnn is the former Lake Mary City Commissioner who has participated in many Peace Run events here.
Lake Mary Mayor David Mealor and some of the Lake Mary residents and runners get ready for a Peace Run at the Peace Tree which was planted here in 2012. It has been growing nicely and it is a reminder of how peace can grow all around us in a most beautiful way.
Mayor Mealor kindly offers a Proclamation to the Peace Run at the Peace Tree in front of City Hall.
Accepting a peace painting created by the Founder of the Peace Run, Sri Chinmoy. It says, 'Imagine Peace Here and Now'.
Dave Morrison, who helped to coordinate all the local events here in the Lake Mary area, reflects on Peace as the Torch is passed around to the people attending this event at the Town Hall and Peace Tree.
Pastor Manuel Santos, Jr. kindly attended the event here this morning before heading back to his church in nearby Longwood where we will run to after this ceremony..
Shelly from the Seminole County PTA/PSA graciously came to our events today to offer her goodwill and prayers for peace as well. We are grateful to her also for her selfless efforts in helping to get our events at the schools for today.
We are very grateful to Fritz Voltaire, a running coach from nearby Sanford, who joined us today as he offers his goodwill and prayers for peace. We are so grateful for his efforts in also helping to arrange for the schools to participate in our events today.
The children also were very sincere and focused on invoking peace as they passed the Peace Torch to each other.
Mayor Mealor leads us in a Peace Walk from the Peace Tree to the beginning of our local run in Lake Mary.
Santiva Morrison, our local coordinator who has organized all the local events for today and tomorrow with her husband Dave, runs with some of the children and local runners to our next destination.
Coach V., Fritz Voltaire(right), runs with the group to the Cantico Nuevo Church in Longwood where a wonderful group of peace lovers were awaiting our arrival.
After running about 3 miles the group is approaching the CN Church in Longwood.
Our enthusiastic welcoming 'committee' at the Cantico Nuevo Church in Longwood.
Before attending the Church Ceremony in the main church, our Peace Run team spent some time with the children as we visited the Kids Ministry next door.
Our local coordinator, Santiva, introduces the Peace Run to the excited children.
Our team sings one of our peace songs with the children which includes actions to the words.
Coach V. tries to get the children to guess the country he is from.
Our team offers some fun skits to demonstrate a peaceful or non-peaceful behavior.
The children have to judge the type of behavior they see us acting out.
We passed around the Peace Torch for everyone to offer their wishes and prayers for peace.
Lots of peaceful smiles from the children.
Smiles from the adults as well.
After this inspiring ceremony with the children we went next door to the main church hall for a ceremony there after the service and sermon.
Santiva, our local coordinator, introduces the Peace Run to the adults and children there.
After offering some inspiring words in English and Spanish, our runners took turns giving clues for the children to guess where we are from.
Hector and Emilia Caceres receive the Peace Run Torch Bearer Awards for their decades of selfless and loving service to the Longwood community.
Our Certificate of Appreciation is offered to Pastor Manuel Santos, Jr., for his dedicated service here at the Church and in the local community of Longwood.
Pastor Santos also accepts a Peace painting from our grateful Peace Run team on behalf of the Church here in Longwood.
We are also very grateful to Mini Martinez who helped to organize this event with Santiva. She also interpreted from Spanish to English the whole sermon presented by Pastor Santos. Her children also ran a few miles with our team from Lake Mary to Longwood this morning.
Santiva shares the Peace Torch with some of the wonderful local families who attended today's service and Peace Run events as well.
One of the happy peace loving families who shared in this most auspicious event with us today.
We are so happy and grateful for all those who have attended and helped to organize this event today in Longwood.
It was a wonderful experience of sharing and caring by all those who came to greet us today as well as offering their prayers and goodwill to the Peace Run.
Coach Fritz Voltaire is so proud and happy to have run with our runners as well these young runners, some of whom are his running students in the local area. We are very grateful to him for inspiring hundreds of children to run and lead healthy lives as they grow up. Fritz was an Olympic qualifier in the 400 metre hurdles when he was younger but due to an injury in training never made it to the Olympic competitions. He still is a great champion to us though as well as to many children and parents in the greater Orlando area.
