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PEOPLE IN BUSINESS Lloyd Watson For Captain Andy Higgins and Major Jeff Benes and all the other leathernecks in the Bay Area Chapter of the Marine Corps Reserve Officer's Assn., Christmas begins with St. Patrick's Day. That's when the MCROA holds its annual Irish Sprint & Stride, a four-mile-plus run-or-walk around Lake Merced that benefits the Marine Corps Reserve's nationwide Toys for Tots campaign. As a result of this year's event, in which 2,200 men, women and children participated, $110,000 worth of toys is now on the way to fire departments, police officers associations and family assistance organizations for distribution to kids throughout the Bay Area. Higgins, 44, a corporate security officer at Bank of America, is chapter president. Benes, 36, who's with Harris Microwave Semiconductor in Milpitas, is the race director. "The Irish Sprint", said Benes, "was begun 13 years ago by a group of businessmen - who happened to be Marines with Irish backgrounds - who were celebrating St. Pat's Day and challenging each other to a run around Lake Merced the following day. From then on, it was an annual event, but on a very informal basis until we got involved four years ago." "We have a chapter of 150 Marine officers in the Bay Area and we really didn't have a mission," said Higgins. "We took it as our charter to manage the race for Toys for Tots." They changed the title from Irish Sprint to Irish Sprint & Stride, so that children, older folks and entire families could participate. Entries more than doubled. A number of sponsors were recruited, by far the most important being Martinez-based Discovery Toys, which this year donated $100,000 in toys. |
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