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September 2024 – Central Route Newsletter

The end of August and early September is typically quite busy for RFTW riders.  As I mentioned in my last newsletter, we were getting ready to do our Annual Reunion and Brick Laying at the Vietnam Memorial in Angel Fire, NM.  This event happened over Labor Day Weekend a couple of weeks ago, and it was a success again. We laid a little over 500 memorial bricks on the grounds around those walkways. RFTW adopted this tradition over this weekend in 2008, and we have been doing it ever since.

For our new people and FNGs, we will also be stopping in Eagle Nest / Angel Fire, NM in May 2025, as this is also one of our official overnight stops.  At this stop when we arrive, we will lay one memorial brick at the memorial  as part of our arrival ceremony.  Memorial bricks can be purchased for any veteran living or deceased and from any era.

There are several individuals that deserve extra special recognition in helping make this a success.

Thank you to: Patti Finley, Kenny Keelin, Kathryn Ewing, Kevin Riley, Blanca Alas-Riley, Harry Steelman, Mike McDole, Coreen Wood, John Grimes,  Mike Sekiya, Eric Ammann, and Sonia Amman. You all went above and beyond. Thank you.

I noticed after I got home that Sonia Ammann did a very nice write-up on her personal Facebook page, and took some wonderful pictures. You can see that below.

Sonia, and her husband, Eric, are our Central Route Ambassador leads.  They lead a team of seasoned RFTW  riders that meet and greet our supporters that line overpasses and wave to us, as well as do community outreach to say THANK YOU to those that support us along our Mission across the US from Ontario, CA to Washington, DC, and the Vietnam Memorial.

Registration for our 35th Annual run is now open.  We open registration every September 11th in remembrance of that fateful day.  Please register early!  It helps us tremendously to plan for logistics, meals, number of platoons, etc.

I do have an open need for a special position that we did not have last year.  I am looking for a VIDEOGRAPHER.  If you have experience in making quality videos and cinematography,  please shoot me an email or call me.  My contact info is on the Central Route Contact page.

In the next 30-days I will be holding a leadership zoom meeting with our state coordinators, and another for our Central Route leadership platoon, team and crew leads. Be on the look our for those meeting invites. Before that time, please start thinking about what you are going to need in order to make RFTW 2025 a success.

As you may have seen or heard, Ted Kapner and Taisha Harmon have started the new RFTW podcast, which you can view on Youtube, or listen to on Spotify and Apple Podcasts among other platforms.  Take a listen… its pretty great!

That’s about all I have for now. See you next month.

Honor and Remember Them All,

Kirk “Pretty Boy” Olson
RFTW Central Route Coordinator – 2025
Asst. Route Coordinator – 2024
Road Guard Captain – 2023
Asst. Road Guard Captain – 2019
BoD of Directors – 2016-2019
Road Guard 2010-2018
FNG 2009

If you have not seen from previous newsletters by me or the other Route Coordinators from Southern, Midway, and Sandbox, RFTW is moving to GMRS for our on-road communications. This is not as big of a transition for us on Central Route this year in 2025, since we piloted the GMRS radios in 2024, and they worked very well.  My advice to you all is to get the radio now, and learn how to use, pair, and connect them to your helmet speakers or ear drums.  Also, help our friends on Southern, Midway, and Sandbox get theirs set-up and paired. Personally, I use a Sena 50S paired to the radio, and I paired the radio as PHONE 2, to the radio. See Sena directions, on how to do this.

**See this post on Where and What to Buy, and all things GMRS for RFTW.**

1 thought on “September 2024 – Central Route Newsletter

  1. Nicely done, son!
    -Whitebirch

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