SILVER CREEK — Never has a request been made to the Silver Creek Village Board that was easier for its members to approve, as Wayne and Elaine Hotelling asked one final time for permission to hold the yearly event they have become known for throughout the region.

The 30th annual Laurel Memorial Run will be held July 17 and 18. It will be the final event the Hotellings coordinate before turning over duties to their partners in the community.

“For 30 years, you’ve been supporting us and you’ve been supporting the Laurel Run. We want to thank you for all that you’ve done for us. … We can’t thank you enough,” Wayne Hotelling said to the Village Board.

He also singled out the Fire Department and the Department of Public Works for all of the support they have provided over the past three decades.

The Laurel Run is held in honor of Wayne and Elaine’s daughter, Laurel Hotelling, who passed away in November of 2017 after living an impactful life of 54 years with Down’s Syndrome.

“She changed our lives completely and totally. I don’t think that there is any person, outside of my wife, that has affected me more than Laurel,” Wayne Hotelling said.

The two-day event will begin on Friday, July 17 with a “Laurel-thon” run beginning at the Resource Center in Jamestown, culminating at the Resource Center in Dunkirk. Runners interact with clients and staff at the Resource Center after the run concludes. The festivities continue in the village of Silver Creek the following day, Saturday, July 18.

In all, the Laurel Run festivities include a 5K run/walk; an 8K run; a 1K Fun Run/Walk; children’s runs; and Laurel’s Lap, designated for anyone with a disability.

Members of the Village Board thanked the Hotellings for their efforts over the past three decades. The members of the Board in attendance voted unanimously to approve the event.