April 30, 2025
Pella, IA
Prairie Fire Foundation founder, Mike Stein, recently ran a 5K in Pella with his son Luke. Luke is traditionally not a runner. However, he decided to train for a 5K as a way to provide incentive for him to lose weight and to get in better shape. Luke chose the Klompen Classic 5K in Pella which serves as the kickoff for the famous Pella Tulip Time Festival. Luke is an engineer at the Vermeer Corporation in Pella and also serves as a volunteer track coach (throwing) for Pella High School and Middle School. In addition to running, Luke surprised his dad by stating that he was also going to sign up as a volunteer runner and raise money for the Prairie Fire Foundation. Luke’s original goal was to run the 5K in 25 minutes and raise $500. Luke states, “When I signed up to raise money, I really didn’t know what I was doing. However, my dad helped me set it up and gave me advice on how to contact people to let them know what I was doing. It was actually a lot simpler than I thought it was going to be.”
Luke exceeded both of his goals! He finished the race in a time of 23:43 and he raised $1031.98! Both were exceptional goals and achievements! Congratulations to Luke for becoming a volunteer runner with Prairie Fire Foundation. If you are a runner, biker, or even walker, you too can become a volunteer fundraiser. Founder, Mike Stein, won’t just help his son fundraise. He will also walk you through the steps on how to set up and manage your fundraiser. He will even give you plugs where he can from his Facebook and Substack accounts. You can sign up by visiting our website and clicking on the “Start Your Own Fundraiser” tab. You can contact us with questions at info@prairiefire.foundation or through the “contact us” tab on the website.