As sure as the dogwoods bloom in Newton County, the annual Covington Family YMCA Cheerios Challenge comes to town.

This is the major annual fundraiser for our local Y.

This year’s event will take place on April 17 and will feature a 10K/5K road race as well as a one-mile fun run.

Also, participants have a chance to be rolling in the dough, as a cash prize of $100 is being offered for the first male and first female who breaks a course record.

There is a pre-registration fee of only $15 to participate.

You can register at the YMCA, located at 2140 Newton Drive in Covington, call (770) 787-3908 or visit CovNews.com and see the full page registration form that ran in our March 28 paper.

The YMCA is absolutely essential not only for the children of our community, but also for future growth of the city and county as well.

When companies start looking to move into a community, they look at how that community provides recreational and healthy options for its families.

So, make your plans for this fun day and remember that your participation only strengthens the vitality of our county. Special thanks go out to General Mills, the Covington Police Department, BB&T, Longhorn, Sunbelt Builders and Advantage Fire for being sponsors of this event.