To family, friends, local businesses and companies that support the fire service:

        My name is Melissa Johnson and my husband Andrew Johnson was killed on December 4, 2008 in an automobile accident. He was a dedicated firefighter for the City of Raleigh Fire Department and also volunteered as a Captain for the Archer Lodge Fire Department. He was only 25 years old when he was killed but had already made such an impact in the community through his involvement with the fire department. He was very passionate about helping younger firefighters learn the skills they needed to be successful at this difficult career. He was always stressing the importance of training in order to help the firefighter as well as those citizens in the community that needed them in difficult situations. He was a certified fire instructor and volunteered his time to help train other firefighters.

        As a result of his passion for public service I as well as the AJ5K Race Committee would like to continue his dream of helping those brave firefighters in the community to be successful. Last year our group organized the inaugural AJ5K which hosted over 650 participants in the Archer Lodge Community. With such an amazing turnout and wonderful sponsors we were able to raise a total of $26,000 for those organizations that Andrew held dear to his heart. The organizations which benefited from this wonderful event included the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the Raleigh Firefighter’s Relief Fund and the Archer Lodge Volunteer Fire Department Training Fund.

        This year we hope to make this event even more successful. Our goal is to double the amount of participants. The AJ5K Committee is also setting a financial goal of $50,000 which will benefit the following charities this year; North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center and the Archer Lodge Volunteer Fire Department Training Fund. We are writing to you regarding this wonderful cause to request support from your organization to help this event take place. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions regarding this event or any of the organizations we hope to support through this event please let us know. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Please take a minute to print out a form or contact us for a sponsor packet!

Sincerely,

Melissa Johnson