By ALEX COSTELLO
It was Jimi’s spirit of kindness, and the impression that he left on everyone he knew, that his friends say inspired them to create the Jimi Gubelli Foundation, which will host its initial fundraising event, the first annual Jimi Gubelli 5K Walk/Run, in Island Park on June 27.
Earlier this year, the Island Park Civic Association came up with the idea and will sponsor the 5K. The group wanted to do something to not only raise funds for a charitable cause, but to bring Island Park residents together.
“The whole premise behind it, besides getting the community together and doing the run, is that we want to give back to the community,” said Felicia Nicholas, head of the IPCA Events Committee, one of the major planners of the event. “Doing the 5K run, we’re raising money for a scholarship for an Island Park student.”
According to Nicholas, the Jimi Gubelli Foundation was created specifically for the 5K, but will continue long after the race. “The cause might change from year to year,” she said. “This year, because it’s hosted by the Island Park Civic Association, we’re making it a scholarship ...”
Born and raised in Island Park and only 47 when he died of a heart attack, Gubelli was well-known for his kindness and generosity. He owned T.A. Clarke’s, which used to be on Austin Boulevard. While he owned the restaurant and bar, he helped almost any organization that came in and asked him for it.
“All the different organizations would come in there, and he was always willing to help them in any way, shape or form,” said Rich Colon, a friend of Gubelli’s for more than 20 years and one of the event coordinators. “During Thanksgiving time, he would feed the needy at his restaurant.
“He had a big heart,” Colon added, “and he was always looking to give a helping hand with anything out there.”
Gubelli’s generosity was one of the main reasons his friends wanted to honor his memory with the creation of a foundation.
The organization’s choice of a 5K as its first event, however, is a little ironic. “The one thing my brother hated to do was run,” Tommy Gubelli said with a laugh. “So I found it funny that they would have a 5K run.”
Jimi, who loved doing things outdoors, was more of a swimmer. But since Island Park already has its annual Labor Day Swim Races, foundation members thought it would be better to organize a different event. “So we figured the best way to do it would be to do a little race or walk through the streets of Island Park, where he grew up,” Colon said. “Afterwards we’re going to have a picnic/barbecue at the beach.”
The foundation is hoping to attract at least 200 runners to the event, Nicholas said, and is expecting around 500 to attend the celebration afterward, at which the Island Park band Mystic will play.
Anyone interested in participating can go to www.jimigubellifoundation.org and either print out a registration form to mail in, or register online. There is a $25 registration fee.
“He was never a man that would say no to anybody,” Colon said of his friend. “If you asked him, it didn’t make a difference what it cost him or what it did for him, he was always going to help out everyone else. So this is just a small token of appreciation and to let that legacy go on.”
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