755 people try to break world record for red light / green light in Manassas VA

Although it is not official yet, more than 755 people participated in the World Record attempt of the largest game of red light/green light, sponsored by First Virginia Community Bank, on Saturday, May 4, during the Fourth Annual Big Day of Serving. 

To start off the day’s 17 work projects in four locations and to encourage community spirit, the City took on the world record challenge in style. 

There is still some work to be done before Guinness officially declares the world record, but the City is overwhelmed by the response for its call for participants.

Before the game began, Glenn Vickers, regional director of the Boys & Girls Club, and Lianne Best, Mom on the Run columnist for ManassasLocal.com, led the crowd in the Harlem Shake. 

This was videotaped and will be sent as a thank you to the Ellen Degeneres Show, which recently, along with Shutterfly, donated $50,000 to Weems Elementaray School for school uniforms.

Video cameras remained in place for the official record of the red light/green light game as part of the rules set in place by Guinness.

Game participants were required to register, wear a wrist band and have a number written on top of their hand with a Sharpie as additionalcounting measures for Guinness.

They were required to stay within the restricted play area until the game was complete. Independent witnesses and one steward for each group of 50 people were stationed throughout the play area.

All documentation will be sent to Guinness World Records’ team of adjudicators in London, UK to verify whether the attempt was successful.

The current record for the largest game of red light/green light is held by Ford Motor Company (USA) with 451 participants.

Councilmember Ian Lovejoy was the announcer during the game, standing near the finish line to call out “green light” or “red light” as participants raced across the field toward the finish line.

Participants were cheered on by Osbourn High School cheerleaders, who held up large “Go” and “Stop” signs to signal the participants. The actual game lasted about four minutes.

Josh Rusnak and his group of volunteers from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield, VA, worked with others to paint the steps leading up to Weems Elementary School from the entrance on Traveler Street.

“It was just painting a sidewalk, but when you step back and look at it, I thought, Wow that was really cool.”  Along with local residents, 574 volunteers helped with 17 work projects at four locations for a total of 3,444 man-hours. 

Group Cares of Colorado registered approximately 30 out of town church youth groups from Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, DC.

The Big Day of Serving was organized by Kisha Wilson-Sogunro, Neighborhood Services Manager, and Christen Zenich, Neighbhorhood Recreation Supervisor for the City of Manassas.

A group of at least 235 volunteers, led by site manager Brad Wilson, worked at Stonewall Park, installing a mosaic tile wall, cleaning up the creek, bike path and woods, and manning a recycling center.  The tiles were decorated by more than 700 children and community residents.

Site manager Rob Gaither arranged for a group of 125 volunteers to work at Weems Elementary School on four projects, including spreading infield dirt and creating a backstop in the athletic fields, painting and creating a teaching garden.

A team of 60 volunteers worked at Byrd Park to install recreation equipment, reline a basketball court, refurbish stairs, paint the pavilion and spread a mountain of playground mulch.

Another group worked at a City of Manassas residence restoring the yard for the family after the death of a loved one.

Sponsors of Big Day of Serving Manassas, along with First Virginia Community Bank, includedBJ’s Wholesale Club, Browns Quality Painting, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, The Chicken Place, Community Thrift of Manassas, Costco, Didlake, English Country Gardens, Evergreen Community Church, George Mason University, Habitat for Humanity of Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park, Herzig Excavating, The Life Church, Light of Life Church, Lowes, McLane, Mike Garcia Construction, Olde Towne, Landscaping, Phoenix Painting, Project Infusion, Roy Rogers, Stone Center, VA BBQ, Walgreens, Walmart and Wegmans.

Project crew leaders included Barbara Atwell, Jenne Burch, Jason Byrd, Brenda Diaz, Mike Gaither, Mike Garcia, Cierra Grose, Molly Henry, Nick Lee, Alan Lucks, Mark Olsen, Cameo Perry, Dustin Potter, Kelvin Pollard, Steve Ryan, Brad Sirstins, Jay Willer, Melanie Woolwine and Victoria Wright.

Planners and other volunteers included Shannon Benson, Lianne Best, Pastor David Blum, Shavon Dotson, Traci DeGroat, Sam Dreutzler, Pastor Tony Lewis, Tina Murray, Lt. Steven Neely and Brad Wilson.