PINEVILLE, N.C. — Organizers of The Richard Sheltra Memorial Race hope turnout returns to pre-pandemic participation levels this Saturday, April 22.
Linay and Michael Sheltra started the Richard Sheltra Memorial Foundation, Inc. after their 20-year-old son, Pineville volunteer firefighter Richard Sheltra, died in a multi-alarm fire on April 30, 2016.
Linay and Michael Sheltra, retired firefighters themselves, are well connected to the firefighter community, and say they remember hearing about a firefighter down during the 2016 fire.
"I looked at the text and thought, it couldn't be my son because he is strong, and hefty, and young. He's smart. He has just graduated out of the academy. He's had many, many years of training, but still, a firefighter was down," Linay Sheltra said. "And then the doorbell rings, and that's the worst."
Since the founding of the memorial foundation, Michael Sheltra says it has donated $75,000 to $100,000 to first responders or aspiring first responders in the state. The money donated has helped rural fire departments rebuild stations after storms, cover costs of specialized training for first responders and provide scholarships to students training to become first responders.
Michael Sheltra says this year, the foundation is giving out $1,000 to five students.
"It feels good to do something that our son was passionate about. It feels good to do something that our family is passionate about because, you know, you can either wallow in the pain or you can turn the pain around to make something beautiful," Michael Sheltra said.
Michael Sheltra said 2019 was the race's biggest year, with over 630 people registered and a turnout of 520. The race was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it returned in 2022, about 420 people participated.
