ALPENA — About 150 runners ran, walked, and trotted under sunny skies Thursday morning during the annual Dork Brothers Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk, beginning at Northern Lights Arena.

This year’s proceeds, expected to reach $2,500, will help pay for books mailed monthly, at no cost to the recipients, to local children as part of the nationwide Dolly Parton Imagination Library program.

More than 540 local children, with more expected to join, are enrolled in the program that promotes school success and increases high school graduation rates, according to Turkey Trot organizer and United Way of Northeast Michigan executive director Joe Gentry.

Mail delivery people tell him they always know when it’s a book delivery day, because their load gets heavier, Gentry said.

“I say, ‘Oh, it’s a good thing,'” Gentry said as Thursday’s first runner neared the finish line.