On December 19th 2017, Clover Park Technical College, (CPTC) lost a very important member of our family. Andy Fritz, our Environmental Sciences Instructor and his wife Jody were killed in a bus accident in Mexico while they were on vacation. Andy had a passion for his career, his students, and loved by many in the running community. If you knew Andy, you knew he was a runner. In fact, he was well known by many as a Marathon Maniac, completing over 160 marathons, ultra marathons and 431 races in his career.

When we came up with the idea of the Trek for Tech 5K, Andy was very active on this committee helping us select the date this year, and we spoke of many ways to promote a healthy lifestyle for our students and staff, by developing a “Desk to 5K” training program. Of course, we had no idea, it would become his memorial run and continue in his honor.

The Andy Fritz Memorial Trek for Tech 5K fun run is in partnership with the Clover Park Technical College Foundation. This event is designed not only to promote a healthy lifestyle, but proceeds from this run will make it possible for the CPTC Foundation to provide emergency assistance, scholarships, and vital support to CPTC and its students

Challenges our students may face include utility bill payments to keep the lights on to study, emergency food supplies, emergency rent payment, or medical bills. This support often makes the difference between staying in college or dropping out.

CPTC students are here to make a difference in their lives, and in turn, they will make a difference in our economy and our community. We should know, we have been doing it for 75 years!