Perry McGriff Jr. was a Gainesville mayor who donated more than 60 gallons of blood in his lifetime, and a cycling event next month is meant to honor him.
The Gainesville Sports Commission and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers will host the bike ride starting at the O’Connell Center. Registration prices are $40 and will close March 6, and participants have to bring their own bikes.
The event is named after McGriff, said Joleen Cacciatore Miller, executive director of the Gainesville Sports Commission. He was a UF alumnus, a city commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and the youngest mayor in Gainesville history from 1970 to 1971, according to his obituary.
He also helped found the Gainesville Sports Commission, a nonprofit that brings sporting events to the city, and served as a member of LifeSouth’s board of directors for more than 30 years. While at UF, he lettered as a dual-sport athlete in football and baseball, his obituary read.
The event will have music, food and beverages and a raffle, Miller said.
"This is a way that the Gainesville Sports Commission and LifeSouth have come together to honor Perry McGriff and all that he's done for our community," Miller said.
The ride will start at the O'Connell Center with several distances participants can choose. Kids and adults who want to ride around campus can choose the five-mile distance, Miller said. According to the registration page, the 31- and 43-mile riders will travel southeast of the county, near Hawthorne. The 69- and 90-mile cyclists will head northeast toward Waldo.
The sports commission and LifeSouth have partnered together since 2006 to help people understand why it’s important to donate blood, said Brite Whitaker, the spokesperson for LifeSouth. They partnered up because McGriff was involved in both.
LifeSouth will provide volunteers and bring a blood donation truck during the event, Whitaker said.
The event will entirely be funded through the sports commission, Miller said. All proceeds will go to LifeSouth to continue McGriff's dream of promoting blood donor outreach.
"We just want to keep growing the event and make it bigger," Grissom said. "It's for all levels, so it's just to have fun. It’s not really a competition. It's just a fun ride for them to get out there to learn more about LifeSouth."
Contact Christian Ortega at cortega@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @unofficialchris.
Perry McGriff Jr.
