McCarthy-Bush Corporation will be the title sponsor of the YMCA’s Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day for the 36th consecutive year.
The YMCA Turkey Trot has been a Quad Cities Thanksgiving Day tradition since 1986. More than $2.4 million has been raised and provided to local children, teens, students, families and seniors because of the 65,500 registrations and thousands of volunteers over the years.
In 1987, with shared values of healthy living, social responsibility, and youth development, the YMCA of the Mississippi Valley (previously Scott County YMCA) and McCarthy-Bush joined forces to put on the second annual Turkey Trot – an event that has grown into the Y’s largest annual fundraiser.
“My grandfather, Jack Bush, was a phenomenal businessman but was also a philanthropist at heart, along with my grandmother Patricia,” said Ben Bush, director of sales and business development at McCarthy-Bush. “He believed in the Y’s mission and took a personal responsibility to move it forward, and he instilled that with my family members and the employees that came after him.”
Jack Bush, who served as chairman and CEO of McCarthy-Bush from 1985 to 2002, was honored by the YMCA with the Heritage Award in 2005 and the YMCA Leadership Award in 1996, due to his many years of dedication to the Y’s mission.
This year, employees from the Davenport-based McCarthy-Bush will participate in the race and volunteer at water stations along the course.
“McCarthy-Bush’s support has been unwavering,” said Luis Leal, Turkey Trot race director and The Bettendorf YMCA’s branch executive director. “In 2020, when our race was shut down due to COVID-19, there was no hesitation, Pete Bush called me up and wrote the check which helped us recuperate some of our losses from that year.”
The YMCA Turkey Trot course begins on Davenport’s East Fourth Street, heads west to Main Street, then north past Palmer College of Chiropractic and Davenport Central High School. The 5k turnaround is just north of Locust Street, and the 5-mile course continues around and through Vander Veer Park.
“I want to carry on my grandfather’s legacy and traditions,” Ben Bush said, adding “The cool part is, the Turkey Trot is a part of so many families’ Thanksgiving Day tradition. We’re just happy to be a part of it.”
For more information and to register for the YMCA McCarthy-Bush Turkey Trot visit:https://www.ymcaimv.org/programs-activities/community-events/.
McCarthy-Bush Corporation through its subsidiaries operates in construction, mining, real estate development, and steel fabrication sectors. Subsidiaries include Bush Construction,
Clinton Engineering Company, Linwood Mining and Minerals, McCarthy Improvement, Oertel Metal Works, among others. For more information, visit www.mccarthy bush corp.com.
