NSU Founders Day 5K pre-registration due Feb. 25

(Tahlequah, OK)--The Northeastern State University Student Foundation is organizing the second Founders Day 5K run scheduled March 5, the day after the university's Founders Day celebrations.

Founders Day commemorates the day the Oklahoma legislature purchased the Cherokee National Female Seminary and created the Northeastern State Normal School on March 6, 1909.

Pre-registration ends Feb. 25 and is $15 per person or $30 for a three-person relay. A free T-shirt is guaranteed to those who pre-register. A 1K fun run will also be held.

Race-day registration is $20 for individuals or $40 for a relay. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. and the run begins at 8:30 a.m. at Centennial Plaza.

The race is open to faculty, staff, students, the community and all runners that wish to participate, said Penny Moore, director of annual giving and NSU Student Foundation adviser.

Awards will be given to the top three finishers in male and female categories. Door prizes will be given away after the race.

Volunteers are needed to perform duties associated with the run. Those interested in volunteering can attend a meeting Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. in the Branscum Alumni Center on the southeast corner of East Crafton Street and North Cedar Avenue.

Proceeds from the Founders Day 5K benefit the NSU Foundation. For more information or to register call the Foundation at 918-444-4214.

The NSU Founders Day 5K is one of several events hosted on the NSU Tahlequah campus to commemorate the creation of Northeastern State Normal School and pays tribute to the foresight of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, which authorized building the male and female seminaries at Park Hill in 1846.

The female seminary was destroyed by fire in 1887 and rebuilt near Town Branch Creek at the north end of Tahlequah two years later. Known today as Seminary Hall, the historic edifice is distinguished by its iconic clock tower, which has been replicated at NSUs branch campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow.

Nearly a century ago, the state of Oklahoma purchased the Cherokee National Female Seminary and 40 acres of land from the Cherokee Nation, laying the groundwork for todays Northeastern State University.

The Founders 5K and 1K Fun Run are held around Centennial Plaza south of Seminary Hall.

The focal point of Centennial Plaza is the Sequoyah Statue which stands on a Cherokee Star encircled by a seven-column, open-framed structure featuring the Cherokee syllabary and artistic depictions of the seven Cherokee clans.