People are invited to help select the logo for the 2019 Laurel Memorial Run & Walk.

Again this year, the Laurel Run planning committee held a contest seeking designs from area high school students. Artists were encouraged to come up with their own designs, rather than use artwork they found on the Internet. Designs from students at four schools (Forestville, Frewsburg, Sherman and Silver Creek) were chosen as finalists. Those six designs are now posted on the OBSERVER’s web site at observertoday.com, and people are encouraged to go online and vote for their favorite logo. The online voting results will be combined with the results of internal voting at The Resource Center to select this year’s logo.

To see the designs and cast your vote, visit http://extras.observertoday.com/LaurelRun/Laurel.asp. Voting will last until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The winning design will appear on this year’s Laurel Run T-shirts and other promotional materials. The winning artist will receive a $100 gift card to a store of his or her choice.

The Laurel Memorial Run/Walk was started in 1997 by Wayne and Elaine Hotelling of Silver Creek. The annual event is named in honor of their oldest daughter, Laurel, who had Down syndrome. Laurel Run seeks to raise awareness about people with disabilities, and the Hotellings have dedicated the event to Laurel and to all of her friends with disabilities who receive supports from The Resource Center. Money raised through Laurel Run goes to Filling the Gap, Inc., which works with The Resource Center to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Western New York.

The Laurel Memorial Run/Walk is a two-day event. The annual Jamestown-to-Dunkirk relay run and the 30-mile Laurel-thon endurance run will take place Friday, July 19. The following morning, the action shifts to Silver Creek and features an 8-kilometer running race, a 5k walk, a 1k fun walk, children’s runs, “Laurel’s Legacy Lap” (for anyone with a disability) and a post-race party.

For more information about Laurel Run, visit www.laurel-run.com or phone 661-4735.