Portal
Home
Calendar
Gallery
FAQ
Search
Register
Log inNicole's Memorial Walk/Run's a memory in making
Page 1 of 1•
Nicole's Memorial Walk/Run's a memory in making
by Outspoken on Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:51 am
Nicole's Memorial Walk/Run's a memory in making
When Nicole Oliver died in a domestic violence incident last summer, her friends, led by Amanda Vanasse, decided to organize an event to remember her and help other victims.
By DEBORAH SAYER
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
It's been nearly one year since Amanda Vanasse last saw Nicole Oliver's face. But she'll never forget her.
The two women had been best friends since fourth grade and kept close ties throughout life, celebrating birthdays, graduations, marriage and the births of their children within months of each other. They even made time for weekly walks.
All that was cut short on July 8, 2007, when Oliver, 24, was killed by her husband, the late Thomas Oliver, 30, in a murder-suicide.
On July 13, Vanasse will walk not with Nicole but for her in the premiere Nicole's Memorial Walk/Run, a 5K outing along Kennebunk's coastline directly benefiting Caring Unlimited, York County's domestic violence program.
"Nicole loved to walk on Kennebunk Beach," said Vanasse, 26, the founder of the proposed annual memorial walk along with some of Nicole's other childhood friends.
"There was a group of four or five of us who knew each other since grade school," said Vanasse of the group who stayed in touch with each other over the years.
Last year, those women, who'd previously celebrated many personal and family milestones throughout life, found themselves gathering to grieve Nicole's death, purchasing 200 purple roses to give to mourners at her funeral.
"The roses were symbolic of the purple domestic violence ribbon," said Vanasse, who determined to organize an event that kept the memory of Nicole alive while benefiting other domestic violence victims.
In November of 2007, Vanasse was referred to the Maine Track Club where she found a mentor in the person of race director Bob LaNigra.
"He immediately came forth and guided me through the whole thing and volunteered his time to help get the race up and running," said Vanasse, who formed a committee to oversee various aspects of the Nicole's Run.
Those individuals tagged in with LaNigra's volunteers, learning the nuances of race-planning by assisting his crews with similar events.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=193218&ac=PHnws
Tim Greenway / Staff Photographer
When Nicole Oliver died in a domestic violence incident last summer, her friends, led by Amanda Vanasse, decided to organize an event to remember her and help other victims.
By DEBORAH SAYER
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
It's been nearly one year since Amanda Vanasse last saw Nicole Oliver's face. But she'll never forget her.
The two women had been best friends since fourth grade and kept close ties throughout life, celebrating birthdays, graduations, marriage and the births of their children within months of each other. They even made time for weekly walks.
All that was cut short on July 8, 2007, when Oliver, 24, was killed by her husband, the late Thomas Oliver, 30, in a murder-suicide.
On July 13, Vanasse will walk not with Nicole but for her in the premiere Nicole's Memorial Walk/Run, a 5K outing along Kennebunk's coastline directly benefiting Caring Unlimited, York County's domestic violence program.
"Nicole loved to walk on Kennebunk Beach," said Vanasse, 26, the founder of the proposed annual memorial walk along with some of Nicole's other childhood friends.
"There was a group of four or five of us who knew each other since grade school," said Vanasse of the group who stayed in touch with each other over the years.
Last year, those women, who'd previously celebrated many personal and family milestones throughout life, found themselves gathering to grieve Nicole's death, purchasing 200 purple roses to give to mourners at her funeral.
"The roses were symbolic of the purple domestic violence ribbon," said Vanasse, who determined to organize an event that kept the memory of Nicole alive while benefiting other domestic violence victims.
In November of 2007, Vanasse was referred to the Maine Track Club where she found a mentor in the person of race director Bob LaNigra.
"He immediately came forth and guided me through the whole thing and volunteered his time to help get the race up and running," said Vanasse, who formed a committee to oversee various aspects of the Nicole's Run.
Those individuals tagged in with LaNigra's volunteers, learning the nuances of race-planning by assisting his crews with similar events.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=193218&ac=PHnws
Tim Greenway / Staff Photographer
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'."
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)
