Dear editor:

Ilse Boyette was a remarkable lady: dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, nurse, church volunteer, and cyclist. 

On Saturday, April 14, under a sunny blue sky 170 cyclists came out and paid tribute to her and helped raise money for the Tiftarea YMCA programs for youth and families by bicycling the scenic south Georgia roads she so loved to ride.

A portion of the event proceeds will also go towards a book fund for nurses at the Tift Regional Medical Center Foundation in her memory.

The ninth annual Tour de Tifton / Ilse Boyette Memorial Bike Ride was a success due to the contributions of numerous people and organizations, which we would like to take a moment to recognize and thank.

A big thanks to all our sponsors, including:

GOLD LEVEL: Harvey’s, Dr. Bill Davis at Douglas Vascular Center, Dr. Edward and Emily Hellman, Roger D. Barlow, D.M.D., Stafford Development Company, Bret Wagenhorst,MD, Rotary Club of Tifton and Tifton-Tift Co. Tourism.

SILVER LEVEL: Affinity ExpressCare, Affinity Physicians for Women, Central Plumbing & Mechanical, Inc., J&M Lawn Services, Lon P. Kemeness, Attorney at Law, Steve’s Cycle Inc., Tiftarea Greenways Association and Tom Pritchett.

BRONZE LEVEL: Ameris Bank, Bill & Brenda Guest, Diversified Enterprises of South Georgia, Harper Financial Group, Hilton Garden Inn, Jim & Helene Dutcher, Kunes Real Estate & Appraisals, Inc., Patricia Timper, Short & Paulk, Southwest Georgia Bank, Stella & Bunco Babes and Wesley Walker, MD.

In Kind: Anna Maag, BJ Smith Catering, Georgia Peanut Commission, Golden Environmental, Henry Boyette, Red Lobster, Walmart and Zaxby’s.

The staff of the Tiftarea YMCA, including Marci Carroll, Liz Henry, Richard Shoniker, Jason Bishoff, Rick Hawkins and Brett Fountain were all incredibly helpful with planning, set up, registration, and general logistics throughout. We also are appreciative of Y board members, Ana Maag, Joe Gray, Jason Clark, Lynn Lovett, Roger Barlow and Reneta Elad for helping out during the event.

Kudos to members of the Tiftarea Greenways Association (TAGA) Sharon Petzel, Becky Gill, Patti Timper and Paul Horst for accurately marking the 249 miles of course routes.
Cheers to Pam Weldon for speaking about Ilse, to Mayor Julie Smith for welcoming the riders to Tifton and to Pastor Greg Love for saying a prayer for the riders. Thanks to The Tifton Gazette, the Tifton Grapevine, Dan Hobby, Bret Wagenhorst and Penny Peters for helping publicize the event.

Thanks go out to Marion Curry and Penny Peters for finding and organizing a great bunch of volunteers for the rest stops.

Many thanks to all the folks who helped out providing refreshments and encouragement to the riders at the various rest stops including: Boy Scouts, Iris Sears, Hope Brady and People First, Jeremy Campbell and Gary Kincaid from Tifton Rotary Club, Dave Groff and Jack and Loraine Sullivan. The rest stop snacks, prepared by Loraine Sullivan, Linda Reed, June Adams, Carla Giddens, Holly Simpson and Becky Gill helped sustain the riders on their journey and were enjoyed by all.

And we are grateful to the local churches, businesses and individuals that let us use their facilities for the event, including Shingler UMC, Bethel Baptist Church in Sycamore, Mt Zion Baptist Church in Chula, Divya’s Convenience Store, Dan and Ellen Corrie, Darby Hall and Ben Shivers.

Anna Maag and Henry Boyette deserve a big applause for providing a delicious post-ride meal, which Lynn Lovett and Jason Clark helped serve, and to Red Lobster for supplying biscuits and Zaxby’s for supplying tea. And thanks to GA Peanut Commission for helping supply snacks for the rest stops. Golden Environmental gets a kudos for providing clean portable toilets for the event.

Thanks to Jerry Goodwin of BMG Cycles in Moultrie, Dr. Roger Barlow, Joe Gray and Pat Stone for providing SAG support and/or driving the course routes to catch any stragglers, and to the Tift Co. Sheriff’s Department for providing deputies to help keep the riders safe on the roads. 
And, of course, we are thankful to all the riders who came out to “spin their wheels” for a good cause on a cool morning. We had 170 riders register this year, including riders from more than 35 towns in Georgia and 4 states. The youngest rider was 13, the oldest was 80, and they included several families.

All totaled, these riders logged several thousand miles in Tift and surrounding counties in a single day. Many commented on how beautiful the countryside was.
Cheers to all for making the event a big success. We imagine Ilse is smiling up in Heaven.

Sincerely,

The 2018 Tour de Tifton / Ilse Boyette Memorial Bike Ride organizing committee