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Page 4C
October 19, 2022
Bolingbroke athlete brings home the Gold
Bill Bonbrake wears the seven medals he earned at the 2022 Georgia
Golden Olympics and holds the javelin and discus that represent two
of the events in which he earned medals. He stands in front of one of
the classic cars he owns and the dream house he built over the last few
years near Bolingbroke.
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Bill Bonbrake brought
home a gold medal from
the 2022 Georgia Golden
Olympics held Sept. 27-
Oct. 1 in Warner Robins.
In fact, he won medals in
all seven of the events in
which he competed, gar
nering a total of four gold,
two silver and one bronze
medal from his efforts.
The gold medals earn
Bonbrake an invitation
to the National Golden
Olympics, which will be
held in Pittsburgh in July.
Bonbrake said he plans to
continue training and bring
home another batch of gold
from the national competi
tions.
The Golden Olympics are
open to those 50 years and
older, with competition be
ing divided by gender and
usually divided into five-
year age brackets. Bonbrake
said he expected it to be a
successful year for him be
cause he moved into a new
bracket, 80-85 years old.
In track, he won gold in
the 50 meter sprint and the
100 meter sprint. He cov
ered the 50m in 7 seconds
and broke 20 seconds in
the 100m. In field events,
he competed in discus and
javelin. One of his silver
medals came in the javelin
throw where he went up
against the current national
champion.
His javelin throw was
only 4 inches short of the
champions throw that took
the gold. Bonbrake said it
was his first competition in
discus and javelin.
Bonbrake also competed
in football throwing ac
curacy and softball dis
tance throw. The football
throwing was a contest to
earn points by placing the
ball through rings, and he
earned a perfect 15 points.
His softball throw covered
about 100 feet. He also
competed in pickleball and
earned a silver medal.
He was highly compli
mentary of the Olympics in
Warner Robins, describing
the games as
well planned
and well
rim and the
facilities as
exceptional.
He said there
were crowds
of spectators
for almost
every event.
Bonbrake
stays in shape
by playing
pickleball at
the Monroe
County Rec
reation De
partment. He
plays on the
indoor courts
which makes
it possible for
him to play
consistently
five days per
week. He said
the local play
is fun and
fairly com
petitive.
The pick
leball play
at Monroe
County
Recreation
Department
is primar
ily doubles
in order to allow the most
people possible to use the
courts. Those who play are
of various ages and ability
levels, but Bonbrake said
the players are courteous
and friendly, making the
activity a pleasant social
time as well as a good
workout.
The oath for the Golden
Olympics is: “Let me com
pete to the best of my po
tential in the spirit of fun,
fairness and fellowship.”
Bonbrake said the spirit of
the oath was pervasive at
the 2022 Georgia Golden
Olympics. He said he faced
some of the same competi
tors in the 80-plus bracket
in different events and all
were supportive of one
another.
For example an experi
enced competitor he met
in the javelin throw taught
him that in the 80-plus
bracket he was supposed
to use a lighter (400 gram)
javelin instead of the 500
gram model he brought.
The other javelin thrower
loaned him a lighter javelin
for each of his three throws,
even though they were
competing against one
another.
After he threw 90 ft. and
another competitor threw
30 ft. In the softball throw,
which Bonbrake said was
one of the less competitive
events, the other thrower
asked Bonbrake if he was
going to compete in the
next two throws. When he
said that he was, the other
man said he was going
to withdraw and save his
arm for the basketball free
throw competition.
The fellow athlete, who
was from Ellijay, said he
wanted to give him some
thing and handed him
a penny stamped with a
cross. He said it was made
by a friend in Tennessee;
the man handed out a
number of the mementoes
to friends at the Golden
Olympics. Bonbrake said
it was a typical gesture of
the athletes at the Golden
Olympics, especially of
those in the 80-plus divi
sion. They were supportive
of one another and appre
ciative of the opportunity
to compete.
Watching some of the
competitions Bonbrake
recognized a 91-year-old he
had met at Senior Olympic
finals in Birmingham a few
years ago. The mans son
and wife helped him to get
to the court to compete
in the hammer throw.
He also competed in the
100m dash, finishing in
over a minute, compared
to Bonbrakes 20 seconds,
but finishing nonetheless.
Bonbrake said the specta-
Kingdom Builders is a mission at home
work hard,
there is also
plenty of time
for fun, laugh
ter and cama
raderie as they
serve together.
There were
six major
worksites this
year, and all
of the sites
were com
pleted within
two days. All
people and
churches are
invited and
Kingdom Builders finds the tools and skills to get the job done.
By Jody Barfield, Kingdom
Builders coordinator
While being blessed
with spectacular autumn
weather, the Kingdom
Builders ministry weekend
completed work at several
different sites throughout
Monroe County Oct. 14-
15. Kingdom Builders is a
joint effort of the churches
of Monroe County to help
renovate homes of home-
owners in need.
The work is led by a
team of skilled volunteers
who lead a team of volun
teers, made of both adults
and teens. They give their
time to put their Christian
faith into action to make a
difference in lives of some
families in our community.
Many think of this minis
try effort as a mission trip
for our own community.
The work done varied
among the sites. Some
examples of worksites
completed were: replac
ing rotten decks, replacing
holes in floors, building
handicap ramps, replacing
rotten siding and painting
a house to help improve
the feel of a wonderful
neighborhood. All of the
work is done to code and
features quality work.
While the volunteers
encouraged to participate
next fall as we put faith into
action.
A special thanks goes
out to Southern Rivers
EMC, Central Ga EMC,
Forsyth United Methodist
Kindom Builders volunteers
work together as a team
to change problems into
blessings as they make
repairs for homeowners
that can t accomplish them
by themselves.
Church and Community
Care Council as they each
made significant dona
tions to help fund the work
that was completed this
year. And thanks also goes
to Cannon Roofing for
providing expertise to help
lead a project. Plan on
joining us next October
to give a helping hand to
some wonderful people in
this community.
tors in the stands cheered
wildly when the 90- plus
contestant crossed the fin
ish line.
Talking to the nonagenar
ians son, Bonbrake learned
that he loved old classic
cars, which are Bonbrakes
passion. He shared with
him a picture of a 1918
Model T Depot Hack, a
forerunner of the woody
station wagon, that had
been owned by the Vander
bilts before Bonbrake
acquired it. The model was
made to transport pas
sengers from train depots.
The mans son said enjoying
the picture of the classic
car was one of his fathers
favorite moments at the
Olympics.
Bonbrake has collected
classic cars for over 40
years and held a huge estate
sale of over 2,000 items,
including cars, in 2015 at
his home on Highway 41.
After the estate sale Bon
brake turned his attention
to building a dream home
and shop near his previ
ous home. He designed the
structure to have room for
his vehicles and collectibles.
He continues to add
things he collects. Al
though they may be some
of his smaller collectibles,
his Golden Olympic med
als are some of the most
unique items, filled with a
lot of pride and priceless
memories.
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