Team FSHD Skyland Trail celebrating their completion of the 3,000-mile Race Across America (From left to right), Brian McGuigan, Brian Gallagher, George Pollock, Powell Brown, Brian Jones, Michael Small, David Sanborn, and Rob Murray. Photo by Jacob Pollock.
Daytona Beach, Fla. – June 25, 2019 – Powell Brown, President and CEO of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO), joined longtime friend George Pollock to participate in the 2019 Race Across America (RAAM), riding to increase awareness and funding support for mental health, suicide prevention and FSH muscular dystrophy. Brown, who was part of the eight-person team that pedaled over 3,000 miles in six days, 13 hours and 11 minutes, raised more than $1 million to benefit the new J. Rex Fuqua Campus for adolescents (14 – 17 year-olds) at the Atlanta-based Skyland Trail. Brown personally rode approximately 425 miles, climbing approximately 23,000 vertical feet.
“At Brown & Brown we have built our culture of caring on serving the communities where we live, work, and play, encouraging our teammates to make a positive impact in ways that are personally meaningful,” said Powell Brown, President and CEO of Brown & Brown, Inc. “Being able to participate in this race alongside my friend while raising awareness and funds for causes that are personal to us was a tremendous honor. I am very thankful to all who supported me, including Brown & Brown teammates and our Board of Directors.”
Two years ago, more than 400 people joined George Pollock in raising $107,000 for the FSH Society during his first RAAM campaign. Despite living with the hereditary muscle disease, Pollock was able to compete in the long-distance race. The FSH Society funds research to develop treatments for the disease, which affects around one in 8,000 men, women, and children.
Brown was so inspired that he asked to join Pollock’s RAAM team this year on behalf of Skyland Trail, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that helps people with mental illness thrive through a holistic program of evidence-based psychiatric treatment, integrated medical care, research and education. Funds raised from this year’s race will help benefit Skyland Trail’s new J. Rex Fuqua Campus for adolescents in Atlanta, set to open in fall 2019.
President and CEO Powell Brown in Branson, Colorado – day four of the Race Across America from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD. Photo by Jacob Pollock.
In addition to Brown and Pollock, Team FSHD Skyland Trail, which finished 5th out of eight, eight-person teams, included: Brian Jones, Michael Small, Brian Gallagher, Brian McGuigan, David Sanborn, and Rob Murray.
Brown added, “In raising awareness for Skyland Trail, we are working to help erase the stigma associated with mental illness and raise money for education, research, and treatment of these serious disorders which affect so many of our friends, family, and colleagues.”
To donate to support Powell’s efforts and Skyland Trail, please visit https://www.skylandtrail.org/Support-Us/Powells-Race-Across-America.