Heading down the "Right Track"

  • Published
  • By Lee Anne Hensley
  • Hilltop Time correspondent
HILL AFB, Utah --  The basement at the Hill Air Force Base Chapel was bustling with racing excitement Tuesday evening as children watched their handmade cars race down a sloped track.

The Hill AFB Chapel Awana club hosted its second annual Grand Prix event March 2 to encourage fun and friendly competition among its local members. Each participant, which ranged from toddlers to teenagers, was given a block of wood, wheels and paint prior to Tuesday evening's race to create a personalized race car with their families.

"It is a way for families and local club members to get together and have some fun while racing our homemade cars down a track," said Ann Marie Price, Awana coordinator. "This is our annual event to help reach out into the community of Hill Air Force Base. Many of our leaders, children and parents have gone through or are currently going through a deployment, and we are all there to support them through these difficult times."

Participants of the Tuesday evening event comprised members of the Hill AFB and the Layton Hills Baptist Church chapters of Awana. A member of each chapter from each age group raced their handmade cars against their peers to win a trophy and ribbon at the end of the event.

Three judges -- Col. Patrick Higby, 75th Air Base Wing commander; Staff Sgt. Richard Scott, 367th Training Support Squadron; and Senior Airman Aaron Camp, 388th Fighter Wing, 4th Fighter Squadron -- stood at the end of the track to fairly determine the placement of each car.

Awana is an international club aimed at promoting spiritual growth in children and youth between the ages of 3 and 18 years. Its name is taken from the first letters of a Bible verse, 2 Timothy 2:15, "Approved workmen are not ashamed."

The Hill AFB chapter meets every Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Base Chapel and enrollment in the chapter is open year-round.

"Each Tuesday we get together for fellowship, play games, and learn bible verses and lessons," said Price. "We invite anyone to come to see what we are all about. There also will be a night in April where we will be making tie-dye shirts."

For more information about the Awana club, call Price at (801) 540-9238, or contact any Hill AFB Chaplain or Chaplain assistant.