Photo Information

Nancy Wike, the family readiness officer for 5th Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, accepts a check for $500 for the unit during a ceremony aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., September 8. The check was given for second place in the medium division of the 101 Days of Summer, an annual event overseen by the Single Marine Program.

Photo by Pvt. Brian M. Woodruff

101 Days of Summer comes to a close

8 Sep 2011 | Pvt. Brian M. Woodruff 2nd Marine Division

Marines and civilians representing 5th Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, were awarded checks and a trophy during a ceremony aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., September 8.

Awards were given for the units who placed first and second in their respective categories during the second annual 101 Days of Summer program.

“The program promotes safety while letting the Marines and sailors have some good clean fun,” said Susan D. Goodrich, the branch head for the Single Marine Program on Camp Lejeune. “It brings the whole Marine Corps family together.”

The program pitted units all over Camp Lejeune and the surrounding area against each other in an assortment of events including golf, video games and bowling.

More events were used for this year’s program, and new representative Marines from each unit were designated to come to Single Marine Program meetings.

“The introduction of unit [representatives] really helped us get the word out to the Marines and sailors about this program,” said Goodrich. “Numbers in participation were way up from last year; we had almost 1,800 people involved!”

At the end of the program, every unit had fought hard, but few came out on top. In the small division category, 10th Marine Regiment dominated the competition with more than twice the points of the next closest competitor, Combat Logistics Battalion 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. Sgt. Maj. Willie R. Perry, the regimental sergeant major was there to see his unit awarded a trophy and $500 for their efforts.

For the medium division, 5th Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, came in a close second, scoring 127 points against the Marine Corps Engineer School, which had 174 points. There to accept the second place award along with $500 was the family readiness officer for the battalion, Nancy Wike.

“It’s good to be able to give these Marines a chance to earn points for their commands and compete,” said Goodrich, “but I’m really glad they had a chance to win money which their command can spend on things like the Marine Corps ball and other activities which benefit the Marines.”

While one command decided to put their earnings towards the ball, the other decided to let the Marines vote on how they would spend their money.

“They earned this money,” said Annissa Hackney, the family readiness officer for 10th Marine Regiment. “We’re going to let them decide what they want to do with it.”

Even though the Marines having fun and competing for their commands was a big part of the program, one of the biggest ideas behind it was safety. The Single Marine Program used it to promote safety and understanding of drug and alcohol abuse, handing out pamphlets at each event.

“I think this is an easy way to promote awareness,” said Goodrich. “The Marines are out participating in an event so they don’t feel like they would in a classroom setting.”

For further information on the 101 Days of Summer or any Single Marine Program event, visit their website at www.mccslejeune.com.