Hap Rapp Memorial Track Meet

Our annual track meet for kids is our oldest community service project. In 1959 (just four years after our club was founded), then-President Charles (Charlie) Honn (Superintendent of the Pleasant Valley School District) and former club member Charles (Charlie) Jones (Superintendent of the Somis School District) had the idea to create a track meet for elementary and junior high students in their respective districts, since in those days there were no youth track clubs or other competitive opportunities below the high school level.

Honn and Jones presented the idea to the club board on October 23, 1959. It was met with enthusiasm, and the first meet was scheduled for the following Spring, with the two Charlies serving as co-chairs. They would continue in those roles for the next 20 years, guiding the event as it grew with the community. 

Longtime club member Hap Rapp had devoted countless hours over the years toward making the meet a success, and when he died in 1988, the board voted to rename the event in his honor.