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Wednesday, 20 July 2011 |
 On Memorial Day weekend in Dallas, more than 400 individuals (many as part of teams) gathered for a first-time event called Carry the Load, a 20 hour, 11 minute, walk to benefit the Joe Foss Institute and several other tremendous organizations.
The goal was to honor and raise money to benefit members of the military, law enforcement, and firefighting communities who "carry the load" for us daily. The Joe Foss Institute's President and CEO, Bob Paulk, was part of the event's leadership team.
The vision for the event is to "give Americans a way to honor those who serve, and an opportunity to show their patriotism by giving back."
Event founder Clint Bruce tells the story of how the event came to be, on the Carry the Load web site: "My life is blessed. I have a wonderful wife and three daughters that are truly the light of my life. I got to play football in college and even spent a little time in the NFL. I served our country as a Navy SEAL. It's a good life and I'm grateful. But every Memorial Day, I had a persistent ache. A dull, deep ache. I can't separate Memorial Day from the memory of all the buddies I'll never be able to call again. It makes me difficult to be around. My wife told me to do something about it."
 Bruce continues, "I couldn't articulate the way I was feeling so I did the only thing I knew how to do. I put on my boots, loaded my pack and I started walking around White Rock Lake. With every step, I thought about those left behind. Then a fellow veteran, an older guy, stopped me and asked, 'Who are you carrying?' He understood what I didn't know how to say." The goal is to carry "more than you have to, further than you think you can carry it," Bruce wrote.
"The world just stops and it's just you, the weight and the next step. That Memorial Day, I knew that other people felt the way I did, and Carry the Load was born. When you 'carry the load' you make a sacrifice and live a richer life through service to others, just like those who serve in the military, police and firefighters. With Carry the Load, we are giving Americans a way to honor those who serve, and an opportunity to show their patriotism by giving back."
At the Joe Foss Institute, we are thrilled about the success of the event, and look forward to seeing it grow in Dallas---and perhaps to others cities across America.
You can learn more about Carry the Load on their site, and see photos of the event here. |
