SUWANNEE RIVER – The winner of the BIG Little River Paddle Race along with other paddlers competed in support of the WWALS river cleanup efforts.

Release:

Nineteen canoeists and kayakers set out on a beautiful blue-sky morning on Saturday, April 30, 2022, and one from far away won the BIG Little River Paddle Race.

They paddled three miles from Red Roberts Landing to the Colquitt County boat ramp on Reed Bingham State Park Lake.

The overall winner was Carl Fuller, of Bethlehem, Barrow County, Georgia, with a finish time of 39:21.

BLRPR mastermind Bret Wagenhorst said, “After winning his trophy and award, Carl donated the $100 prize money back to WWALS, in recognition of our cleanup efforts.”

“Carl told me that wasn’t even his fastest kayak,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman said, “The event raised more than $1,300 for WWALS, thanks to the paddlers and the sponsors, Southwell Medical and Dr. Bret Wagenhorst.”

WWALS President Trudy Cole added, “Congratulations to all the paddlers, and thanks to the sponsors, and to all the volunteers, including from Friends of Reed Bingham, members of WWALS, and staff at RBSP, who helped to make the event safe and fun for the paddlers.”

Other top finishers included Russell McBride, of Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, First Solo Kayak, Male.

Jennifer Harris, of Parrott, Terrell County, Georgia, won First Solo Kayak, Female.

Paul Horst of Tifton, Tift County, Georgia, and Anwar Qarizada, won First Tandem Kayak, Male.

Natasha and Max Barzallo of Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, won First Tandem Kayak, Mixed.

Nicholas Cole, of Barwick, Thomas County, Georgia, won First Solo Canoe, Male.

Alan and Amanda Hurst, of Moultrie, Colquitt County, Georgia, won First Tandem Canoe, Mixed.

Trudy and Conn Cole, of Barwick, Brooks County, Georgia, won a special prize for being the slowest. They were supposed to be: they were the sweep, making sure everybody else finished safely.

Finally, Paul Horst was the oldest paddler, and Matias Barzallo the youngest.

Pictures of all the paddlers are on the WWALS website.

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity. WWALS advocates for conservation and stewardship of the surface waters and groundwater of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary, in south Georgia and north Florida, among them the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds, through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities. Founded in June 2012, WWALS has board members from multiple counties in south Georgia and north Florida, and members from all over the Suwannee River Basin and from farther away. Since December 2016, John S. Quarterman is the Suwannee Riverkeeper®, which is a staff position and a project of WWALS as the member of Waterkeeper® Alliance for the Suwannee River Basin, including the Little River.

For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS outings and events web page. WWALS members also get an upcoming list in the Tannin Times newsletter.