Memorial run raises funds for scholarship

FRANKLIN >> Friends and colleagues of a beloved doctor who died too soon are keeping his memory alive with an annual run event.

Dr. Greg DeSimone, the former medical director for SCCEMS MEDIC 94 and the Jennersville/ SCCMC Emergency Department since 1990, died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2013. He was known for his dedication to the job, and, more specifically, how consistently he mentored young medical students in the emergency room.

Medic 94 Director Bob Hotchkiss described him as “an outstanding and caring physician. He also was a caring friend who took great interest in the lives of those that worked with him. ... Greg was truly a renaissance man. He could sit down with any patient and talk to them about

any subject. His easy-going demeanor endeared him to those he met and worked with.”

After he died, the staff of the emergency room and others decided to come up with an event that would reflect his life, and they came up with “Race Through the Grapes.”

“He loved to run and he loved wine,” former Emergency Room Director and race volunteer Diane Ryan said.

So they joined with Paradocx Vineyard on Flint Hill Road, the greater Jennersville Hospital, Medic 94 and the West Grove Fire Company to create a 5K that would raise money for a scholarship. The money is designated to aid one student who is studying to become

a physician’s assistant.

Last year — the first year of the run — they raised about $3,500. This year, they hoped to match that.

On Saturday, more than 150 runners showed up to add their support and take a jog through what is probably the most picturesque race in the county.

The course is on the Paradocx property. Paradocx vineyard grows grapes, makes wine and sells it. Its headquarters abuts forests and corn fields, and the paths are hilly and bumpy.

“It’s a challenging course,” Ryan said.

That was an understatement.

The run was low key and there wasn’t a lot of hoopla.

The runners began on a narrow path into the woods, and then went past rows of grape vine plants. They emerged beside a large corn field and concluded

beside a large “bale maze” where people try to find their way through stacks of baled hay.

All in all, it took the fast runners about 20 minutes to complete the course, and in spite of the uneven ground along the way, no one tripped or fell last year or this year.

The West Grove Fire Company was there with a giant American flag on its tower truck, so were a few informal vendors who offered snacks. Some members of the Avon Grove football team were there to help out and take a shot at running the course.

Ryan said the scholarship is available to anyone, anywhere who is studying to become a physician’s assistant, and the money can be used at any college. They hope to continue the event every year.

CHRIS BARBER — 21ST CENTURY MEDIA Runners make their way through a wooded area during the Race Through the Grapes 5K at Paradocx Vineyards on Saturday.