GREENFIELD — A Greenfield-Central graduate is biking across the United States to raise money for public education.
Chris Willis, 50, who now lives in Perrysburg, Ohio, recently stopped in town for a funeral but quickly resumed his cross-country mission for charity.
He’s part way through his journey cycling from Washington to Maine, with a goal of raising $51,000. He plans to give $1,000 to 51 different school districts he visits along the way.
Willis started out from Anacortes, Washington, on June 7, and hopes to complete the trip on Aug. 2, when he rolls into Bar Harbor, Maine.
The avid cyclist has named his fundraiser Pedal for Public Schools, raising money as a way to say thank you for all the public schools do.
“I am raising the funds through donations of all sizes from people that want to say thank you to public schools everywhere,” said Willis, who comes from a long line of public educators.
“As a family we have over 250 years of experience working in public schools. I have spent my entire educational and professional life in public schools,” he said last week, during his brief stop in town.
His mother, Jean Willis, and sister, Deby Low, both live in Greenfield.
Low said it’s no surprise her little brother has taken off on an ambitious cross-country adventure.
“I think it’s something he’s always wanted to do, and he figured he’d better do it sooner rather than later,” said Low, who serves as president of the Greenfield Parks Board. “Chris likes to set goals and go after them, and he obviously set this goal and he’s doing it,” she said.
Low said it’s been a great opportunity for her brother to share the adventure with his youngest son, George, who is driving the trip with his dad, traveling ahead to set up camp each night.
“This 19-year-old kid chose to spend his summer vacation doing this with his dad, and I think that’s great,” she said.
While the trip has been mentally and physically grueling, Willis said the adventures he and his son have had along the way have made it all worthwhile.
The best highlight so far has been the night they camped in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, where two bison wandered through their campsite. Willis also loved his ride up Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.
Seeing the country by bicycle has been a richly rewarding experience for the native Hoosier.
“I have really enjoyed getting to watch how the landscape changes as we cross the country,” he said.
“It has also been very rewarding to meet people along the way — other cyclists making the journey, or people in the diners I have lunch in, or folks in the campgrounds each night.”
Willis started cycling when he was a teenager and rode throughout college, but he stopped for about 20 years while starting a family and his career.
He got back into the sport about five years ago, with the cross-country trip being his goal.
Willis is averaging 80 to 90 miles a day on the trip, or five to eight hours each day. The total trip will cover about 3,500 total miles, a big jump from the 2,000 miles he typically logs each year.
In the end, the money raised for public schools will be well worth it, said Willis, who attended Greenfield-Central schools. He graduated in 1989.
He then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Ball State University, and a doctorate from Indiana University.
He worked as a teacher and principal in Indiana public schools for a number of years before becoming a professor at Mississippi State University.
Willis now works at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, where he’s an associate professor in the School of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Policy.
