The good things that are accomplished by folks with a clear goal in mind and a cooperative and determined effort put forth to achieve that goal is, really, nothing short of amazing.

One of the best examples of that idea just happened to have taken place this past Saturday morning on and around the First Avenue Field.

Members of the Parent, Teacher and Student Association (PTSA)of Fuqua School decided to organize and host a fundraising event but not just for members associated with the school. The organizers wanted to host an event that would attract both young and old from the school as well as from the surrounding community. The group decided that their event would be noncompetitive. In fact, all of the proceeds raised by hosting it would go toward supporting a charitable cause. How did they decide on what cause to support, one might ask. It’s simple; they would vote on one. The prize associated with attending and participating was the pure enjoyment gained by being in the company of the other participants.

The result of the organizer’s plan: Farmville’s first ever PTSA one-mile and 5K Community Color Run. There were no time clocks, no finish times to beat, and no trophies to collect at the finish. People could run or walk, their choice. As a way to demonstrate the level of diversity that the Color Run hoped to achieve, the event planners stationed people along the planned route with plastic squeeze condiment bottles filled with various brightly colored powders. When people passed those stations they were amply doused with color. Upon reaching the finish line everyone looked like a rainbow colored version of themselves, and strikingly similar to the person beside them.

Could there be a message emerging from behind all of the laughter, camaraderie, fun and colored powder being tossed around?

The Community Color Run succeeded on more than one level. People from the community took the time to come out and just be with each other. The children had a blast with the colored powders. Several of them were more than willing to show off their new look.

The charitable cause chosen by majority vote was The March of Dimes. It was a pleasant way for everybody there to spend his or her morning.

The organizers hit the nail on the head with the event. The effort put into it by the PTSA of Fuqua School clearly showed through in the outcome. There is talk about next year’s event already. My calendar is marked.

Noel Oliver is a staff writer for The Farmville Herald and Farmville Newsmedia, LLC. He can be reached at Noel.Oliver@FarmvilleHerald.com.