Veterans the real winners of Braidwood Memorial Day 5K

MEMORIAL DAY 5KRACE ORGANIZER (and amateur Mario impersonator) Ryan Dodge (left) finishes strong with Vincent Truetner (Luigi), Gustavo Avila (Wario) and Kenneth Ruitenberg. The event raised thousands of dollars to beneft Honor Flight Chicago. Photo by Marney Simon.

By: 
Marney Simon
Editor

Memorial Day weekend is often thought of as the unofficial start to summer. And while local towns took time out of the weekend festivities to remember the reason behind the holiday—to recognize and remember the men and women who died serving the United States as members of the Armed Forces—one local veteran wanted to do more.

That’s how Ryan Dodge, an outage scheduler with Constellation Energy, came up with the idea of a race to benefit those who offer their service to the country.

“I’m part of a veterans group that works for Constellation, basically we’ve been doing charitable golf outings for local veterans groups. I just became part of the corporate level so now we’re Constellation military, actively connected across the fleet,” Dodge said. “So I said, let’s do something for the Midwest, and I was thinking, we got into golf outings, what’s something that would attract a lot of people, so we said 5K.”

Dodge contacted Josh Bolatto with Braidwood ESDA to get some ideas on how to go about getting the run scheduled. Bolatto in turn connected Dodge to city leaders, and plans for a Memorial Day run through the neighborhood around Old Smokey City Park came to fruition.

On May 27, a total of 136 participants from five states took their mark at Old Smokey for the first running of the Braidwood Memorial Day 5K.

The race circled the area around Old Smokey, providing runners with the Midwest’s signature flat surface run, making it a little easier for every skill level.

The money raised was donated to Honor Flight Chicago.

“That’s a perfect cause, nothing better than to help the veterans who didn’t get that proper welcome home,” Dodge said. “They take them and they fly them to Washington, DC. It’s so honorable to see what they do for them, so I said let’s make them our charitable cause.”

Honor Flight Chicago was founded 15 years ago as a way to give back to veterans.

“We fly senior war veterans to Washington, DC as a thank you for your service,” said Doug Meffley, Director of Honor Flight Chicago. “We began with WWII veterans back in 2008, because the WWII Memorial had just opened, and it took so long that all of our WWII veterans were in their 80s, it was tough to travel. So, this Honor Flight movement was born. We quickly saw how much it impacted them not just to see the memorial but the way that they we treated and thanked. We expanded to Korean War veterans and now Vietnam War veterans as well, and all three generations travel with us.”

Honor Flight Chicago has flown 10,000 veterans from Chicago to Washington, DC. The group charters a Southwest 737 for the flight, which departs from Midway Airport. The aim is to fly out about 800 veterans over the seven flights in a season.

WWII and Korean War vets are at the front of the line, followed by Vietnam veterans. The pandemic forced the organization to halt flights for a while, but they are now back up and running. However, there is a wait list, so veterans and their families are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible.

The 5K event raised more than $15,000 between race fees and donations.

“This event will raise enough money to fly several veterans, fully fund a day of honor for several of our veterans on an upcoming flight, Meffley said. “This event will specifically help to fund several of those veterans on the flights.”

Dodge and his group will present the official check to Honor Flight Chicago as Guardians of the Flight on a future trip to Washington, DC.

“We’ll actually get to partner up with a veteran and do the whole experience,” Dodge said. “We’re definitely looking forward to it.”

Dodge said he’s already looking forward to planning another run for next year, and is already seeking out other veterans groups that can benefit.

“That, to me what’s it about,” Dodge said. “Getting communities involved. It’s all about giving back to our communities. All of our veterans are within our communities. There’s no better purpose than to get involved and make it a community event. The way it turned out was awesome. Everyone felt safe, which is good, It’s all about giving back to the veterans.”

A veteran himself of the United States Navy, Dodge said one of his passions is to give back to those who have served.

“There’s nothing better than to pay it forward,” he said. “One of the good things about getting veterans together is the camaraderie of hearing their war stories. It’s pretty neat, I’m looking forward to doing it again.”

Earlier this year, the city of Braidwood paid a $500 fee to have the course certified, which means it can be used as an official 5K route for future events. Constellation sponsored the 5K event and Dodge did the logistics and planning.

The race was chiptimed by It’s Race Time, Inc. Results can be found online at www.results.itsracetime.com.

To donate, help out, or get your veteran involved with Honor Flight Chicago, visit www.honorflightchicgo.org.