BOONE, N.C.—Girls on the Run of the High Country (GOTR-HC) will host the seventh annual Luck o’ the Lassie celebration on March 19 at The Best Cellar in Blowing Rock, located at 203 Sunset Dr., from 6:30-9 p.m.

Tickets are limited to 100 guests and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Prices in advance are $50 for one ticket, $75 for two tickets or $125 for four tickets. Tickets may be purchased in advance at The Best Cellar or online at https://gotr.appstate.edu/lucko. All proceeds from the event will support GOTR of the High Country.

The event will feature wine and beer tastings, food prepared by The Best Cellar chefs and a live auction. Auction items include Appalachian State University athletic event tickets; custom jewelry; lift tickets to local ski resorts; Appalachian Arts and Cultural Programs event tickets; Deer Valley Racket Club membership; area accommodations and restaurant gift certificates; and many other items. This year’s event will be hosted by acclaimed auctioneer Jesse Miller.

The Leigh Cooper Wallace Making a Difference Award will also be announced and awarded to an individual who has made a lasting impact on the organization. The award is named in honor of Wallace, a Watauga High School teacher, coach, athlete and founding member of GOTR-HC who passed away in 2012.

GOTR-HC is a program of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Institute for Health and Human Services in Appalachian’s Beaver College of Health Sciences. It is a non-profit prevention program that encourages girls in grades 3 through 8 to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles. The 12-week program operates in Watauga, Ashe, Avery, Alleghany and Wilkes counties. Its curriculum and activities address girls’ physical, emotional and social well-being and culminates in a 5K run that the girls train for. Lessons of the program inspire girls to be strong, contented and to resist peer pressure as they enter middle school and high school. Over 65 percent of the girls receive financial aid to participate.

Learn more about Girls on the Run at https://gotr.appstate.edu.

About the Beaver College of Health Sciences

Appalachian’s Beaver College of Health Sciences opened in 2010 as the result of a strategic university commitment to significantly enhance the health and quality of life for individuals, families and communities in North Carolina and beyond. In 2015, the college was named for an Appalachian alumnus and pioneer in the healthcare industry – Donald C. Beaver ’62 ’64 of Conover. The college offers 10 undergraduate degree programs and six graduate degree programs, which are organized into six departments: Nursing, Social Work, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Nutrition and Health Care Management, Health and Exercise Science, and Recreation Management and Physical Education.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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