Category: General News & Updates

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RFTW is looking for a driver, sales lead and members for the Merchandise Team

If you are looking for a way to contribute, especially if you were thinking about doing the Run in a truck, there are three positions that need to be filled.

Central Route Driver

  1. You will need a truck capable of towing a max of GVWR of 9990lbs with a minimum 2″ hitch ball, 7-pin light plug and brake controller (mounted in truck). Expect the actual trailer load to not exceed 7200lbs. It is recommended that the vehicle towing setup support stabilizer bars which are provided but is not a requirement.
  2. Your truck must in good condition and meet all DOT requirements.
  3. You must have a valid driver’s license, registration, and vehicle and towing insurance good throughout the Run from the time you hook up in Ontario until the trailer is returned.
  4. You will pick up the trailer in Ontario, CA and be responsible for taking it all the way to Washington, D.C. and then returning it to Phoenix, AZ.
  5. You will coordinate with the Central Route Coordinator regarding all of the stops and where to park for each day during the Run.
  6. All fuel is paid for from Ontairo, CA until the return to Phoenix, AZ. The most direct route from Washington, D.C to Phoenix, AZ must be taken.
  7. Having familiarity with generators is a plus.

Sales Team Lead

  1. You will serve as the merchandise team lead selling RFTW merchandise.
  2. You are customer focused and will represent the face of the RFTW merchandise team.
  3. You will need to be able to operate the point-of-sale system and manage cash and credit card transactions. Training will be provided.
  4. You will need to be able to reconcile all transactions for each day and provide the Treasurer, or appointed person, with the cash received each day. Reporting format will be determined by the Treasurer.
  5. It is recommended to have at least one other person as part of the team (can be the driver). Other volunteers are welcome.
  6. You will be required to be in Ontario, CA the Friday before the Run for training and to help set up and sell merchandise at either the Elks, host hotel or both.
  7. You will need to provide your own transportation unless other arrangements are made with the merchandise truck driver to ride along.
  8. Help is needed for Central and Midway Routes.

Sales Team Contributor

  1. You will support the Sales Team lead helping sell RFTW merchandise.
  2. You are customer focused and will represent the face of the RFTW merchandise team.
  3. You will need to be able to operate the point-of-sale system and manage cash and credit card transactions. Training will be provided.
  4. You will be required to be in Ontario, CA the Friday before the Run for training and to help set up and sell merchandise at either the Elks, host hotel or both.
  5. You will need to provide your own transportation unless other arrangements are made with the merchandise truck driver or Sales Team Lead to ride along.
  6. Help is needed for Central and Midway Routes.

Please reach out to me if you are interested or have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you!

Alan “Xbox” Steiner
Director of Merchandise, RFTW
2023-2024 CR Photographer
2022 CR Plt 2 Tailgunner
2012 CR FNG

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Join RFTW On Giving Tuesday – Help Continue The Mission

Run for the Wall® Continue The Mission

Help Run For The Wall Continue The Mission on Giving Tuesday!

Run For The Wall is taking part in the global 24-hour day of fundraising, Giving Tuesday, on Nov. 28, 2023! We hope you will join us to support the Run For The Wall Mission by donating to RFTW.

Share Your Generosity!

Share how you’re giving back on social media with hashtag #GivingTuesday #runforthewall and inspire others!

Run For The Wall® is a certified 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. All donations are tax deductible. Lookup the Run for the Wall® – GuideStar Profile for detailed information on our organization.

No one left behind is more than a standard we all live up to. It is a way of life. It is part of our Mission. If you or someone you know find themselves struggling with their mental health, please know you can contact the VA Veteran’s Crisis Line by dialing 988 then press 1 or text 838255 and speak or chat with a qualified responder.

Let us remember to keep our focus on the Mission. It is why we ride!

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Store Sale Coming Thanksgiving Day!

Beginning Thanksgiving Day thru Cyber Monday, everything in the store will be 15% off. Yes, everything! In addition, free shipping will be reduced to a $50 minimum order from the current $100. All orders will ship with a free Eagle Oval patch, RFTW square logo patch and RFTW Logo Vinyl Sticker. Finally, any order over $100 will get a free Wall to Wall hat (while supplies last.)

I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving. Using the words from Lester Holt of NBC News, “Please take care of yourself, and each other” this holiday season.

Ride safe everyone.

Alan “Xbox” Steiner
Director of Merchandise, RFTW
2023-2024 CR Photographer
2022 CR Plt 2 Tailgunner
2012 CR FNG
https://rftw.us

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Upcoming Event for Homes for our Troops Riders Needed

We have an event coming up in Southern California at the end of October and we are looking for RFTW Riders to come and support it. This is the Community Kickoff Event for Homes for our Troops (HFOT). RFTW Donated money to HFOT to assist in building adapted homes for wounded Veterans. This month the Community Kickoff Ceremony for HM3 Nathaniel “Randell” Leoncio is Scheduled for 2:00 PM October 28th in San Marcos, CA.

Information about Doc Leoncio can be found here.

MORE INFO

News Article 

Bronze Star

We have created a sign up form on google docs to sign up for the event so we can plan for the numbers that will  be attending. We are looking for Motorcycles to Escort Doc Leoncio to the Church where the ceremony is going to be held. Staging (Currently) is slated to be at Lot “C” at California State University-San Marcos. Address is  333 S Twin Oaks Valley Rd, San Marcos, CA 92078. Staging will be at 1:30 PM at lot C. There will be a rider’s brief and a chance to meet the Recipient Doc Leoncio and then we will escort him to the Church for the Ceremony. We are also looking for any volunteers to assist the PGR with a flag line at the church.

Please use the link to sign up or email nick.hentges@rftw.us and let me know that you will attend and whether you are on a motorcycle or in a cage.

 

SIGN UP SHEET LINK

More information to come. If you sign up on the google doc, please make sure we have a good email address and cell phone number, so we can send updates and changes as needed.

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Save The Date: Home for our Troops Community Kick off 10/28/2023

Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Time: 2:00 p.m. (Check-in at 1:30 p.m.)
Location: Grace Church 855 E Barham Drive, San Marcos, CA 92078

Our next Home for our Troops will be on Saturday,  October 28, 2023 for a Community Kick off Event for Nathaniel Leonico in Escondido, CA.  While he was actually in the Navy, he was assigned to the 3/7 Marines as a corpsman.

Larry Medcraft, Central Route’s CA State Coordinator, is organizing the escort.

In addition, since Leonico  is a 3/7 Marine, and we have one in our mist, Nick Hengtes, Central Route Coordinator will be attending the event as the RFTW spokesman.

If you are in So. Cal. please plan to attend this important event to show support for our veterans.

HM3 Nathaniel “Randell” Leoncio

Escondido, CA

Originally from the Philippines, Nathaniel “Randell” Leoncio joined the Navy to serve as a corpsman with the Marines with aspirations to become a firefighter paramedic.

On Oct. 4, 2005, Doc Leoncio was on his first deployment, serving with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, when his vehicle drove over an improvised explosive device (IED) in Ramadi, Iraq. The explosion flipped the vehicle over, pinning HM3 Leoncio underneath. Fellow HFOT Veteran Corporal Neil Frustaglio, who was riding in the vehicle behind Randell’s, was the first to rush over to help. Cpl Frustaglio rocked the vehicle back and forth so HM3 Leonico could crawl out. Randell lost his leg right leg, but before he was evacuated, he directed the other Marines on how to treat himself and others who were injured. HFOT Veteran Cpl Travis Greene was also serving with HM3 Leoncio at the time of his injury.

Medically retired, Randell is now a prosthetist at Balboa Naval Hospital, where he treats many fellow HFOT Veterans. He would like to take his education further and get his Ph.D. in a related field, and get involved more with policy. “I love what I do, helping people like me walk and be active again,” he says.

Receiving a specially adapted custom home from Homes For Our Troops home will enable Randell to progress more easily in his career without the challenges of living in a non-adapted home. In his current residence, Randell often has to hop into the shower because it is too small for his wheelchair, and he has trouble reaching the cabinets in the kitchen. Though he currently manages these obstacles and is mobile within his home, Randell knows it will get more difficult as he ages and risks injuring himself further. “If I ever injured my left leg, I would struggle a lot to even get into our home,” he says.

In his free time, Randell enjoys spending time with his wife, Abreail, a Navy Nurse, and his stepsons. His main hobby is off-roading with his jeep, and he also likes camping, snowboarding, and working on cars.

When Randell moved to the United States at the age of nine, he settled in Southern California. He is choosing to remain in the state and build his HFOT home there to be close to family, healthcare, and his job.

Randell has seen the difference an HFOT home has made in the lives of his patients, enabling them to return to school, pursue careers, and start families. He is grateful to HFOT supporters for providing his fellow injured Veterans with this gift. “I want you all to know that you are making a difference and improving injured Veterans’ lives.”

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2024 Merchandise Now Available!

Today registration begins for the 34th annual Run For the Wall in 2024. In support of the upcoming mission, the store has added new 2024 merchandise that is now available. This includes the 2024 Wall 2 Wall, All The Way and Participant bar patches, pin, wristband and a new safety yellow men’s shirt. The shirt is offered as a performance, moisture wicking shirt that is in the same material used for the gray shirt which is also offered in the store. New items will continue to be added in the coming months so keep checking back!

Also, we’re making available the FNG patch, ahead of the Run. The pin that is issued at registration for FNGs will still be issued but we’re giving FNGs the opportunity to purchase the patch in addition to the pin if they chose to do so. The FNG lettering commemorates the 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024. Protocol for the use of this patch, if sewn onto a vest, jacket or other prior to the Run, is that it is in the upright position until a FNG completes the Run. At the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., anyone in leadership can and will turn your pin upside down at which time the patch can be sewn upside down.

Finally, as a reminder, the store is operating on a limited shipping schedule until September 24th. All shirts and hats will continue to ship normally. Anything else will be delayed until the week of September 24th at which time normal operating procedures will be in place.

As always, any questions, comments and feedback are welcome. Let’s make 2024 the best Run of them all! Is it May yet?

Alan “Xbox” Steiner
CR Photographer
Director of Merchandise
RFTW Board of Directors
https://rftw.us

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RFTW Registration Newsletter

Run for the Wall

Hello from Northern Louisiana!

I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know some of the things that are going on in the Registration world.  In the short few months that I have been on the BoD, I have quickly learned that the Registration Team members do a LOT of hard work throughout the year to prepare for each year’s Run.  Thank you to all our dedicated Registration Team members for all that you do every year.

This year was the second year of the electronic registration process.  As with any major change, there have been some growing pains, and we continue to work to improve the overall process.  I have already received some After Action Reports regarding Registration, and I am grateful for your feedback.  Several riders have asked me why we went to the electronic process, so I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the benefits of the electronic process:

  1. Rapid Access to Information:  Several times during the 2023 Run, your Route Leadership needed specific information regarding their route.  From participant names for military base access, number of motorcycles and 4-wheelers for LEO escort planning, to total number of vehicles for Route Finance/Fuel Team planning, I was able to quickly provide that due to the electronic database.
  2. Central Data Storage:  As the Registration database is stored on the RFTW website, there is no need to print forms and carry binders around.  When information is needed, it is searchable across all four routes without needing to locate and/or search through binders and manual forms.
  3. Support of Future Planning:  I have already received multiple inquiries from both BoD members and Route Leadership as analysis and planning has already begun in support of the 2024 Run.  By using the online registration database, I can quickly provide the information requested.

While we know that the online registration process is NOT perfect, and we continue to work to improve the overall experience, it has unlocked several new tools that are already in use to better serve your Route Leadership and to better support the Run as a whole.

Lastly, I would like to briefly touch on a survey that many of you have received.  After looking at the number of riders registered versus the number of riders checked in, it appeared that we had many “no shows”.  To help us understand and possibly assist in the future, a survey was emailed to the riders who registered, but did not participate according to our registration database.  The results of the survey have already clearly indicated that there were some clerical errors in our registration database and that some of those who appeared to be “no shows” participated.  Thank you again for your input as we work to improve the process.

In closing, thank you again to the Registration team members who work tirelessly throughout the year and while on the Run, and thank you all for your feedback.  If you have not already done so, please submit an After-Action Report.  I can assure you that there are already discussions happening because of the input you provide.  Stay safe, and I hope to see you all in May of 2024, if not before then!

Kelley “Gonzo” Perry
Director of Risk Management/Registration

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RFTW 2024 RC’s Announced

Run for the Wall

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the confirmation of the Run For The Wall 2024 Route Coordinators as follows:

Central Route: Nick “Rich Boy” Hentges

Midway Route: Don “10-A-See” King

Southern Route: Darin “Lurch” Koch

Sandbox Route: Cornell “Thumper” Penn

Congratulations to all.

We look forward to announcing the new ARCs and RGCs for each route soon.

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Remember The Mission!

Remember the Mission

Why We Ride

Run for the Wall Mission Statement

To promote healing among ALL veterans and their families and friends, to call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action (POW/MIA), to honor the memory of those Killed in Action (KIA) from all wars, and to support our military personnel all over the world.

Run for the Wall Philosophy

We strive to maintain a safe, supportive and private atmosphere in which all participants can reflect and heal on their journey to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, and the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial in Marseilles, Illinois in the hope they can return home to a new beginning.

Run for the Wall Goals

• To guide the participants safely across America.

• To educate future generations on the importance of accountability in wartime actions, emphasizing that no one should be left behind.

Safe travels to all those on their way to the start of Run For The Wall XXXIII.
Only a few more days…

WE RIDE FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T

1 MISSION – 4 ROUTES