A big thank you to all
who made Run for the Fallen a success
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August 26, 2011 |
On Behalf of Idaho’s Gold Star families we would
like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to all of the
people in this wonderful town who made Run for
the Fallen a successful event! Just for the
record, we had 99 runners/walkers covering 362
miles for 44 fallen soldiers, as well as another
57 active participants in the event itself.
In particular we would like to thank the
following people:
Our wonderful Run for the Fallen committee who
labored for 6 months in various ways:
Rhonda Vogl- truly you are a force to be
reckoned with!! You were able to shake pledges,
promises, and volunteers out of every corner of
the county.
Glory Rossbacher- the photos of the event were
amazing and a wonderful testimony to our first
run.
Evelyn Rae- a truly gracious host to our Gold
Star families as well as a tireless worker at
the BBQ.
Lawrence Jefferson- our webmaster
extraordinaire!! Thank you so much for reading
the names of Idaho’s fallen and taking care of
General Gayhart.
Jessica Tingley- whose real labor of love was
the heart and soul of this event - the compiling
of the photos and pictures of our fallen.
Liz Fulton and Jennifer Solt – if anyone needs
fundraisers these are the sisters to see!! We
couldn’t have had an event without your efforts.
Don Chapman – thank you so much for running not
one, but three! BBQ’s. Your efforts were very
much appreciated by our hungry participants!
BBQ set-up – we have numerous volunteers;
Martine Dinsmore, Robbie Fulton, Evelyn Rae, Don
Chapman, Rhonda Vogl, and the list goes on. A
big hug to each and every one of you. We knew
this part of the run was in very capable hands!
Mountain Springs Church – there wouldn’t have
been anything to set up without this wonderful
church loaning us their tables and chairs! This
church is truly one of a kind in our community.
There wouldn’t have been anything to cook
without the generous donations of the following:
Border Patrol and Customs – you didn’t stop at
purchasing the bracelets or walking your horses
in the event…you went on to buy every hamburger
patty and bun for the BBQ afterwards! What an
amazing group of people. You are a credit to our
community!
Dick and Melanie Staples of JRS Survey- thank
you for supplying all the hotdogs for the event.
Your generosity saved the day!
Sue Wilson, Trinka Wilson, Jenny Fessler, Sentha
Figuero, Rhonda Vogl, Amy and Coby Lane, made
all the wonderful side dishes for the event.
Those were some awesome recipes!!!
Papa Byrd’s-Thank you for the five delicious
pizzas that kept the volunteers well fed as we
erected signs and passed out running packets.
Safeway – thank you for donating the fruit for
the morning of the event.
BTC - thank you, Matt, for providing all the
donuts for the volunteers in the early morning
hours of the run. Your store continues to be an
integral part of our community.
3-Mile Café- thank you for the all the coffee
that went nicely with all the donuts!
Albertsons – thank you for the 10 cases of water
for the event. The runners appreciated it on
such a hot day!
Yokes – thank you for the wonderful cake. All
the kids went back for seconds!
Super 1 – thank you for the gift card that
provided all the condiments we could possibly
think of!
Akins Harvest Foods –thank you for all the
tomatoes, onions, and paper products. We really
did need 500 napkins for those juicy burgers!
Fred Meyer – thank you for donating all the
chips and pop for the event. Your generous
donation helped us tie up “loose ends!"
Wal-Mart- the yellow ribbons on all the markers
were possible because of your generous donation.
Thank you so much!
Zip Trip – thank you for all the ice ... boy,
did we need it!
Liberty Gas – thank you for the morning juice to
go with the coffee and donuts!
Glenda Poston – you saved the day by providing
four canopies that provided some much needed
(and appreciated) shade for the BBQ!
For lodging our Gold Star families we would like
to thank the following:
Evelyn Rae –you are the most gracious host
imaginable!
Northside Bed and Breakfast – thank you for
donating a night’s stay without a moment’s
hesitation.
Kootenai River Inn – thank you for continuing to
support our community so generously.
Kootenai Valley Motel – Thank you for jumping on
the bandwagon with the other hotels.
The Log Inn – Our guests absolutely loved their
unique room as well as the hot tub. Thank you!
Bear Creek Lodge- Thank you so much for your
support of our event!
Sandpoint Holiday Inn Express- thank you for
supporting our Gold Star family with several
therapy dogs!
For the creation of the signs we would like to
thank the following:
Jessica Tingley – your investment in this
project was 110%. I know it was not accomplished
without heartache and tears for all the families
of the fallen.
Mountain Sky Printing – the work you did on
behalf of Run for the Fallen was excellent.
Thank you so much for your willingness to donate
your time and material to this project.
Copy Shop Northwest – again, a wonderful job by
our hometown print shop. They were as passionate
about this project as we were. Thank you so
much!
Staples – thank you for contributing the poster
board that we used for the signs that lined
Veterans Park.
Quality Feed – thank you for donating the stakes
for the signs that lined the route.
Home Depot – a big thank you for going the extra
mile to obtain the 88 flags that we needed for
the signs. Bravo to such a patriotic store!
Huckleberry Variety – thank you so much for your
generous support!
Evelyn Rae and Cynthia Saunders – thank you so
much for donating the flags that lined the
pathway at Veteran’s Park. We discovered that we
can never have too many flags!
Sign “raising” crew- this crew was up at 4 a.m.
in order to have the signs in place for the
opening ceremony: Adam Arthur, Jessica Tingley,
Corky Thoreson, Jennifer Solt, Liz and Robbie
Fulton, Johnna Sohner, as well as myself.
Clean up crew –It was a dirty job but someone
had to do it! Big thank you’s to Adam Arthur,
Jessica Tingley, and everyone else who lent a
hand after the event.
A huge thank you to Butch at the Logo Shop who
provided the shirts at cost to us. They were
absolutely beautiful!
We would like to thank the following for
participating in our opening and closing
ceremonies:
Lawrence Jefferson – the reading of the fallen
was a difficult task. Thank you so very much for
shouldering that burden.
Pastor Garrett – thank you for your opening
prayer. It was moving and very much appreciated.
Rebecca Huseby – for your excellent rendition of
our National Anthemn. It was a piece of history
that was the perfect backdrop to our ceremony.
Fairchild Honor and Color Guard –thank you so
much for coming such a long way in order to
honor our fallen. The rifle volley and TAPS is
such an integral part of honoring our fallen.
Again, thank you so very much.
General Gayhart – thank you for your wonderful
speech. It was heartfelt and deeply moving. We
appreciate all your efforts on behalf of Idaho’s
fallen heroes and Gold Star families.
Pat Warkentin – what would a memorial event like
this be without the pipes? Thanks so much, Pat,
for playing.
Patriot Guard Riders – thank you for riding for
Idaho’s fallen. It is always a privilege to
stand with you.
Boundary County Motorcycle Club - thank you for
riding for Idaho’s fallen.
A big thank you to Jim Cadnum and the running
club for letting us borrowing their road signs
and a thank you to the Cross Country Team for
helping us put them in place the morning of the
run.
Thank you to our local Boy Scout and Cub Scout
troops for standing by with water and Gatorade.
I know it was a long, hot morning boys but you
did well.
For vehicle support we must thank Riverside Auto
and the Senior Citizen Center. A big thank you
to the volunteers who spent seven hours being
available for ferrying runners/walkers to and
from their markers.
A huge thank you to all of you who supported
this run financially:
Rotary Club
Iron Mike’s Gym
Mountain Springs Church
Sam Fodge
Figgins Farm
Gary Regher
Roger Myers
Colleen Berry
Fulton Quality Construction
To all of the people who bought our fundraiser
bracelets, thank you!
Thank you to Riley Creek for making their
parking area available to us.
Thank you to our local VFW/American Legion for
umbrella-ing us under your organization for tax
purposes.
Thank you to Trudy Dinsmore, who donated several
quilts to be auctioned as a fundraiser. All of
your quilts are beautiful, mom!
A big shout out to Mike Weland, who wrote many a
great article concerning the Run and keeping the
community updated as the run drew near.
Thank you to Caroline Lobsinger of the Daily Bee
and Julie Golder at the Herald. Julie, it was a
privilege to run for your uncle, Ron Vauk.
Last, but not least, a huge thank you to every
runner, walker, bicyclist, and horseback rider
who caught the vision for this event and spent
the day with us honoring and remembering Idaho’s
fallen. May they never be forgotten!
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Sincerely,
Bernadette Kirk-Bonner, Johnna Sohner,
Jessica Tingley, Jennifer Solt, Josiah Kirk, Liz
Fulton
Gold Star family of Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk
KIA Cop Keating
October 3, 2009 |
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