Winchester business owner sets world record

Published 11:20 am Thursday, June 27, 2024

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Chad Walker, who co-owns The Engine House Pizza Pub with his wife Jill, is one of the most active members of the Winchester community. 

With an eagerness to help raise funds and an eye for entertainment, Walker recently took action. 

After months of planning, Walker set a world record for the longest distance traveled in an electric golf cart in 24 hours while also raising money and awareness for scholarship funds for the Winchester Fire Department. 

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It has been certified by the well-known Guinness Book of World Records. 

“The event went off just as planned. All of the volunteers and community folks came out to help us,” said Walker. “It was a really nice thing! It went [really] smooth.” 

At approximately 4:15 p.m., attendees met at the Winchester Fire/EMS station at 1100 Fortune Drive. 

From there, the electric golf cart being used—an RX-V E-Z-Go golf cart with a lithium-ion battery that has been called the “electric orca” due to having an inflatable orca placed on its roof—was driven to Creative Coffees Roastery at 2000 Fortune Drive. 

“Creative Coffees [was] our on-site sponsor,” Walker said. “They’ve just been absolutely wonderful to work with.” 

At exactly 5:00 p.m., the trip that would last 24 hours began. 

While initial plans were to see if the golf cart could be driven state-wide, changes were made after concerns were raised. 

“I got to turn right for the next 24 hours,” Walker said in jest. “The loop that we took was basically [to start] at Creative Coffees, take a right, and then that loops all the way back around [the building].” 

Because its headquarters are in Europe, the official Guinness Book of World Records statistics are measured in kilometers. 

However, although the equivalent number of miles traveled in an electric golf cart between Walker’s first contact and Friday’s excursion changed from 120 to 150, it would nevertheless be not only broken but convincingly so! 

By the end of 24 hours, Walker had accumulated 387 miles on his electric golf cart, approximately 250 laps or roughly the distance from Lexington to Chicago. 

The accomplishment has garnered the attention of some interested in future promotional opportunities and helped raise $8,700 to support the local scholarship funds. 

Yet, in addition to his hard work—for which he estimates he was up for approximately 37 hours—Walker noted that community support was essential. 

City Commissioner Hannah Toole and Carson Hunt, business owner of Satisfaction Pools, served as official timekeepers. 

Plus, with two witnesses required for each hour, individuals were present to watch and count the laps at different times, including early morning hours. 

“The biggest surprise was how much support we got from the community both in financial donations and how many people came out,” Walker said. “There [were] a bunch of people involved.”