PASCAGOULA, Miss., Oct. 31, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — More than 400 runners participated in the first “5K Run on the Causeway” hosted by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE:HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division last Saturday. Registered runners and participating sponsors raised more than $6,500 for Special Olympics.

“We had an excellent turnout for the first of what we hope will be many 5K runs to come,” said Edmond Hughes, Ingalls’ vice president of human resources and administration. “This run is a great way to promote a healthy workplace, but more importantly, we were able to use our resources, along with all of the other sponsors, to help a great organization in Special Olympics. I look for this event to be even bigger and better next year.”

Special Olympics participants were also on hand and awarded all runners with medals as they crossed the finish line. Helen Parish, president and CEO of Special Olympics Mississippi, thanked Ingalls not just for the donations raised at the 5K run, but for all of the volunteer service the company has given the organization over the years.

“I think this is amazing,” she said. “This is the largest number of people to participate in a program like this. With more than 200 volunteers at our Summer Games and this event today, Ingalls is the most active sponsor we’ve ever had. And I feel confident it will continue to grow.”

Awards were given out in many different age groups. The overall male winner was Mitchell Jones of Daphne, Ala., who ran the 5K in 18:46. The overall female winner was Dana Gillan of Ocean Springs, with a time of 23:00. In addition to the various age group winners, door prizes were handed out at the end of the race.

The following sponsors helped make the run a success: FARA, Bob 105.9 FM, Isle Casino, Navigator Credit Union, Health Solutions, Chevron, Aramark, Allen Beverages, Cupit Signs, Signal International, The Blood Center, Blossman Gas, Domino’s, Chick-fil-A, Saintsations Gulf Coast, Kelly Pilger Zumba and Kelli’s Steps School of Dance, among others.

For all Ingalls 5K results, click here: http://www.productionsbylittleredhen.com

About Huntington Ingalls Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. For more than a century, HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. Employing more than 37,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and California, its primary business divisions are Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding. For more information, visit: