Comedy Barn Theater Kickin’ Chicken 5K Raises Money for Safe Harbor

The fourth annual Comedy Barn Theater Kickin’ Chicken 5K Run and 1 Mile Fun Walk was held on Saturday to benefit Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center.

Runner Todd Caldwell of Sevierville won the road race, finishing the course in first place as the male open winner in (18:01.71). Caldwell was the winner of the first-ever Comedy Barn Theater Kickin’ Chicken 5K Run in 2013, came in second place in 2014 and in first place in 2015. Caldwell is a local favorite and fellow runners call him “the beast.” The overall second place winner was Chris Ham (19:30.13), and the overall third place winner was Jesse Rollins of Sevierville (20:00.19). This event is part of The Run and See Tennessee Grand Prix Series.

Michelle Childs of Knoxville, Tenn. was the female open winner (21:00.79); Jamie MacHon of Shawnee was the female master winner (24:44.90); and Chris Hamor of Walhalla, S.C. was the male master winner (19:30.13). Atress McBee of Oak Ridge, Tenn. was the female grandmaster winner (29:11.43) and Terry Quillen of Tullahoma, Tenn. was the male grandmaster winner (20:19.01). Diane Babcock of Brooksville, Fla. was the female veteran winner (48:31.68) and James Brown of Maryville, Tenn. was the male veteran winner (22:16.88).

A total of 148 people finished the race sponsored by The Comedy Barn Theater to benefit Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center. Safe Harbor is a nonprofit corporation serving the 4th Judicial District, consisting of Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier Counties. It is dedicated to serving children who are victims of severe neglect, and physical and sexual abuse through prevention, education and intervention.

Donna Koester, executive director of Safe Harbor Chlld Advocacy Center said, “Our main goal is to get kids on a path to recovery. I want to thank everyone at The Comedy Barn Theater from theater co-owners Jim Hedrick and David Fee to all of the staff and especially Comedy Barn performers Clyde Foley Cummins and Danny Devaney. I also want to thank everyone for all of the community support. We hope to see you next year.”

Officials of The Comedy Barn Theater were very pleased with the fourth annual event, and have announced that the Comedy Barn Theater Kickin’ Chicken 5K Run and 1 Mile Fun Walk will be held on Labor Day weekend in 2017.

Jim Hedrick, co-owner of The Comedy Barn Theater said, “Thank you to all of the participants for helping to support the annual Comedy Barn Theater Kickin’ Chicken 5K Run and Fun Walk. We are blessed to be able to give back to the community of Pigeon Forge and all of Sevier County. Once again our charity of choice is Safe Harbor and all of the proceeds from the race will go to support them.”

“We got serious to raise money for this charity,” said Danny Devaney, performer at the Comedy Barn. “Safe Harbor helps kids who need it more than anything. They are in dire need of funding. I don’t know how they do it. This run exceeded our expectations. We raised a lot of money in the silent auction on top of what we raised in the race, which will be tallied by the middle of the week. We are happy that so many people participated in The Comedy Barn Kickin’ Chicken event and that we are able to help Safe Harbor. We look forward to doing it again next year.”

Other winners for the day’s events included Parker Febo of Summitt in the female ages 1 to 10 category (27:39.35); Alex Fine of Newport, Tenn. in the male ages 1 to 10 category (29:14.12); Maddie Hamor of Walhalla, S.C. in the female ages 11 to 14 category (27:52.18); Matthew Sinclair of Carthage, Tenn. in the male ages 11 to 14 category (23:07.20); and Jenna Jordan of Sevierville in the female 15 to 19 category (27:24.96). Sara Sullivan of Sevierville was the female ages 20 to 24 winner (32:27.10) and Filipe Goncalves of Pigeon Forge was the male ages 20 to 24 winner (28:59.89). Mary Griffin Fry of Atlanta, Ga. was the female ages 25 to 29 winner (25:30.16) and Drew Taylor of Sevierville was the male ages 25 to 29 winner (35:16.55).

Amanda Matson of Cleveland, Tenn. was the female ages 30 to 34 winner (25:555.06); Ryan Funkhouser of Maryville, Tenn. was the male ages 30 to 34 winner (21:54.34); Laura Schmutzer of Franklin was the female ages 35 to 39 winner (25:30.36); and Mike Taylor of Madisonville, Tenn. was the male ages 35 to 39 winner (21:49:07). Kimberly Childress of Manchester, Tenn. was the female ages 40 to 44 winner (27:33.93); Jesse Rollins of Sevierville, Tenn. was the male ages 40 to 44 winner (20:00.19); Maria Alana of Sevierville was the female 45 to 49 winner (26:22.02); Michael Childress of Manchester, Tenn. was the male 45 to 49 winner (23:56.60); Suzanne Parker of Maryville, Tenn. was the female 50 to 54 winner (30:58.91); Mark D’Alessandro of Knoxville was the male ages 50 to 54 winner (20:24.17); Betsy Griffey of Strawberry Plains, Tenn. was the female ages 55 to 59 winner (36:49.84); Clyde Cummins of Kodak, Tenn. was the male ages 55 to 59 winner (26:23.18); Constance Carden of Kodak, Tenn. was the female 60 to 64 winner (50:56.34); Rick Walker of Clinton, Tenn. was the male 60 to 64 winner (25:53.32); Cynthia Jeffers of Seymour, Tenn. was the female 65 to 69 winner (53:46.72); Roger Ours of Cleveland, Tenn. was the male ages 65 to 69 winner (24:49.92); Judy Steadman of Pittman Center was the female 70 to 74 winner (56:17.23); Jerry Tipton of Knoxville, Tenn. was the male ages 70 to 74 winner (27:33.97); and Larry Acuff of Knoxville was the male 75 to 79 winner (32:47.04).

Clyde Foley Cummins race director and Comedy Barn performer said, “This was a great event. We do it to represent a wonderful charity in East Tennessee – Safe Harbor. They are completely funded by donations. We love to give back to the community and we are proud to be associated with them.”