Florence named 1 of 8 ‘Fireball Run’ destinations

The city of Florence will be featured in “ F ireball Run: Space Race, ” an adventure travel series.

The city’s connection to the series was announced at a news conference Thursday.

The filmed series features the adventures of 40 teams driving 2,000 miles to experience eight destinations. Florence is one of those destinations.

The adventure will begin in Hartford, Conn ecticut, where teams will begin gathering points for the trivia game. The game will end in Sanford, Fl orid a, but along the way, teams must earn points by solving clues and accomplishing tasks based on points of interest in each destination.

The competition centers on community history, customs and local attractions all while serving a s an awareness campaign to recover missing children from each team’s home region, according to a press announcement .

“We’re also pleased and excited that we’ve been chosen as a destination for the 2015 ’ Fireball Run ’ series,” said Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela. “Of course , the activities will be streamed live and produced as part of an online series. This area was chosen because of our historical qualities and attractions, but also because of our business climate and the business opportunities that were presented to business leaders who are participants in this series.”

Wukela said it is always important that amenities in the Florence community are shown off throughout the nation and world.

“I think this is an excellent opportunity to do that, and to showcase what’s great about Florence,” Wukela said.

“Fireball Run’s” executive producer , J. Sanchez , said Florence was chosen to be part of the show because of the city’s economic stability and a pitch by Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau director Holly Beaumier.

“She did a good pitch so we give all credit to her,” Sanchez said. “She did phenomenal. If it wouldn’t have been for the presentation she made, we probably wouldn’t have selected it.”

Participating teams consist of business owners, level executives, industry celebrities, elected leaders and astronauts. Selected celebrities include reality TV star and philanthropist Jacqueline Siegel ; “America’s Next Top Model” winner Adrianne Curry ; Grant Imahara , who has worked on the TV show “MythBusters” ; and Ray McCelland, a tech nician on the new series “Wheels 4 Warriors.”

Astronauts represent the United States, India, Brazil and France.

Team Florence will include Corey Wallace, general manager of the Hampton Inn and Suites – Florence North and Roger Allen, general manager of the Hampton Inn and Suites – Civic Center in Florence.

“Fireball Run” will make a contribution to The CARE House of the Pee Dee.

The public is encouraged to welcome the teams from 4 to 6 p.m. onSept. 30 near the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center.

“What this show is going to do, it’s going to highlight the best parts of the community,” Sanchez said. “We’re going to give you a platform to get your name out.”

This ninth season of “Fireball Run” will air on June 2016 on online networks such as AmazonFireTV, Google Chromecast, Roku, GooglePlay, iTunes and fireballrun.com.

This story was originally published April 10, 2015 at 9:16 AM with the headline "Florence named 1 of 8 ‘Fireball Run’ destinations."