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Lee University recently hosted a luncheon to thank sponsors, team leaders, and the Cleveland community for their participation in the 2024 Great Strides event and 65 Roses 5K held to raise funds for a cure for cystic fibrosis (CF). This year, the event raised $64,500 for the CF Foundation and welcomed over 600 walkers, runners, and volunteers.  

Great Strides in Cleveland started in 2001 as a partnership between Lee University and the Cleveland and Bradley County community as a way to raise awareness about CF, a genetic disease, and to raise funds for the CF Foundation.  

“We were thrilled to have all of these runners and walkers turn out on what became a gorgeous spring morning,” said Dr. Bill Estes, dean of Lee University’s Helen DeVos College of Education and race director. “The support of this community inspires so many year after year. And we can’t thank the City of Cleveland and the Cleveland Police Department enough, in particular, for helping us pull off a premier town-gown event.”  

Together, this year’s 39 community sponsors contributed $36,500 to the overall total. There were also 12 walk teams that participated in the event, raising over $24,000 and representing community, corporate, and CF family teams.  

This year’s honorary chair Jarrett Millsaps, CEO of Tennova Healthcare Cleveland, spoke at the luncheon, thanking all the sponsors and revealing his and his team’s heart for this event.  

“We are dedicated to community,” said Millsaps. “Part of being dedicated to community is being able to yoke arms with those that are engaged in struggles of different sorts. Our ability as a community partner to bring people together is something that we take very seriously because of the impact that cystic fibrosis has on families and the miracles that are represented in this room, not only from a clinical standpoint, but also from a spiritual standpoint.” 

Elite sponsors were Chick-fil-A, Tennova Healthcare Cleveland, and Paul and Darlia Conn.  

Premier Plus Sponsors include Bank of Cleveland, Don Ledford Automotive Center, Legacy Village of Cleveland/Legacy Senior Living, and TriCon, Inc. Premier sponsors were Beaty Fabricating, Caldwell Paving and Grading, Church of God International Offices, Church of God Women’s Ministries, Cleveland Dental Associates – Dr. Ernie J. Oyler, Jr., Crawford’s Pharmacy, Companion Funeral and Cremation, Easy Auto Incorporated, Eller and Owens Furniture, Hardee’s/J & S Restaurants, Hiwassee Memorial Gardens, Jim Rush Funeral and Cremation, Keller Williams Cleveland – Steve Black, Olive Branch Event Center, Rotary Club of Cleveland, and Wright Brothers Construction.  

Kilometer sponsors were Andrew Johnson Bank, Brown Stove Works Inc, Ian Harper, Ocoee Oral Surgery – Drs. Hunter and Paul McCord, Planet Fitness, and Southern Heritage Bank. Community sponsors include Avail Senior Living, Cleveland Utilities, Gobble’s Automotive, Redemption to the Nations Church, Tennessee Valley Urology Center, and Wedgewood Accounting.  

Media sponsors were Edge Billboards and WCLE Mix 104.1, and community partners include Karis Community Health and Terra Running Company. 

Cleveland Great Strides and 65 Roses 5K has reached over 1.32 million raised for CF research since the local event’s founding in 2001. Median life expectancy for those with cystic fibrosis has increased to 56 years, double what it was when Great Strides began over 20 years ago.  

Cleveland’s 2025 Great Strides walk and 65 Roses 5K will take place on March 29, 2025.  

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a nonprofit, donor-supported organization dedicated to attacking cystic fibrosis from every angle. Its focus is to support the development of new drugs to fight the disease, improve the quality of life for those with CF, and ultimately find a cure. Research is happening daily to find a cure and develop drugs available to those living with CF.  

For more information about Cleveland Great Strides, visit leeuniversity.edu/cf.  

For more information about the CF Foundation, visit cff.org.