Title
Honoring Benita Gram Warns on Winning National Championships.
Body
WHEREAS, Hamline Midway community leader Benita Warns has served her community and Saint Paul for decades, as a district council board member, volunteer, community advocate, business leader, youth mentor and friend to all; and
WHEREAS, Benita, who with her husband Michael Warns, owns Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles, the Prior Avenue bike shop, where the couple are unparalleled promoters of cycling for all ages, having donated hundreds of bicycles to youth who might not otherwise be able to afford them; and
WHEREAS, when Benita started taking free roller skating lessons with her four-year-old son Dylan, the pair discovered they had a talent for speed skating; and
WHEREAS, after much training she qualified for the National Championships, and competed in state-level races in the 30 and older division; and
WHEREAS, in 1994, after leaving skating and moving to St. Paul, she was lured back to the sport by an old friend asking her to skate quad nationals for his team; and
WHEREAS, to practice with others and to simulate the experience of a real race, Warns, a grandmother, signed on as a referee with the Minnesota Roller Girls, under the derby moniker, “Batterin’ Gram;” and
WHEREAS, to date she’s won 15 national gold medals including her first gold in 2009 and her most recent awards, the Quad Skates US Roller Speed Skating Association’s American Championship for women aged 60 and older, which she won in June and at the USA Roller Sports National Championships in August she won first in the Women’s Division 65 and older, in addition to winning six additional titles there; and
WHEREAS, at age 65, she has no plans to hang up her skates anytime soon, finding that roller skating keeps her healthy, boosting her bone strength and balance and giving her endurance and strength; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saint Paul commends Benita Warns for demonstrating to Saint Paulites of all ages that it is never too late to start taking better care of your health, to train, to set ambitious goals and to achieve them, and be it further
RESOLVED that the City Council sets Friday, August 30, 2019 as Benita Warns Day in the City of Saint Paul to celebrate one woman’s courage, determination and success, as an example to all of us.