BRISTOL, Va. -- Marines gathered here, canvassing the crowd as well as promoting Team Marines Racing, Aug. 25.
Four Marines from Recruiting Sub-station Johnson City, Recruiting Station Charleston, accompanied by Capt. Christopher Kinsey, executive officer, RS Charleston, set up the Marine Corps Pull-up Challenge on State Street to meet the crowd, help correct any misunderstandings about the Marine Corps, and promote Team Marines Racing.
“The event was awesome,” said Gunnery Sgt. Brian S. Layne, staff non-commissioned officer in charge of RSS Johnson City. “I was here last year, and I believe the involvement this year was greater than last.”
The Marines set up the challenge with their red, Marine Corps tent and ran the booth for the entire ten hours of the event. The HMMWV was present with the 20-foot inflatable, drill instructor standing on top. They enticed the crowed into doing pull-ups or flexed-arm-hang by offering T-shirts, lanyards and carabineers as prizes.
“I set three appointments from this event,” said Staff Sgt. Sheldon Edwards, recruiter, RSS Johnson City. Edwards said he also was able to meet with people who had not been able to show for appointments and discussed with them the reasons they failed to show.
Incentive items were not the only thing drawing a crowd to the Marines’ location on a street that shares a border with the states of Tennessee and Virginia. NASCAR drivers Ashton Lewis, Jr., #25, Team Marines Racing, and Jason Keller, #35, Team McDonald’s Racing, were available at the Marines’ booth for autographs.
“It was amazing to see some of the results of this type of event,” Layne said. “We had a lot of fun out there. We’re looking forward to next year.”