Article published July 21, 2006
Rossford teens on 650-mile trek to raise $1M for 9/11 memorials
The 4 will stop in Ohio in Fremont, Norwalk, Medina, and Akron
Rossford High School students, clockwise from left, Chad
Coulter, Dustin Dean, Brandon Reinhard, and Tad Millinger
share a quick prayer before setting off on foot for New York.
(
THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
)
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By ERIKA RAY
BLADE STAFF WRITER
When they were given the signal that it was safe to cross State Rt. 65 in Rossford yesterday morning, four Rossford High School students took the first steps of a journey that will take them not only across the street but across three states.
The 17-year-old choir members estimated it will take them more than a month to walk through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey before they're able to stand at Ground Zero in New York City - if they can still stand by then.
"I'm nervous about what my knees are going to look like halfway through," said Brandon Reinhard, who will be a junior in the fall.
But the four boys are determined to walk the 650 miles to New York on their quest to raise at least $1 million to donate to the Sept. 11, 2001, memorials - one at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City and the other in Shanksville, Pa., where the terrorist-flown United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field.
So far, the group has raised about $5,000.
Dustin Dean and his fellow travelers get a rousing send-off from Rossford High School
cheerleaders, family, and friends as they begin their 650-mile journey to Ground Zero.
(
THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
)
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"When I was born in the hospital, they were like, 'He was born for this walk,'●" joked Chad Coulter, who also will be a junior in the fall. "I was ready for it."Though they were only 12 when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon near Washington, the horror stuck in the minds of the four friends who banded together to make the trip: Chad and Brandon, fellow junior Dustin Dean, and senior Tad Millinger.
They decided against walking with a fifth friend because they felt he wasn't dedicated enough to see it through.
But the four remaining travelers were dressed to go yesterday, sporting identical running shoes and matching white "Walk to Raise" T-shirts.
The first few steps of their journey were between dozens of well-wishers - including family, cheerleaders, and community members - atop a white sheet of paper rolled out like a red carpet.
The plan was to head east on U.S. 20 to at least Fremont before stopping for the day.
Before arriving in New York, the boys are planning a detour to Shanksville to donate 20 percent of what they raise to the Flight 93 National Memorial.
They'll give the remaining 80 percent to the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation on Sept. 11 this year.
Each day's 20 to 30-mile hike will start early in the morning and end at a planned destination where the weary travelers can grab a bite to eat and get a good night's sleep in a hotel. Sundays will be their day of rest.
In Ohio, the plan is for them to stop in Fremont, Norwalk, Medina, and Akron. They hope to be in New York City near the end of August.
And in case something goes awry on their journey, young Millinger's father, Bruce, said he will always be nearby in his truck or on the bike he's storing in the truck bed. One of the boys' parents will drive them home when they're finished.
Though she originally told her son that the idea was crazy, Kishta Millinger said she's proud of what the boys have been able to accomplish.
"They worked really hard to get where they're at," she said, watching them fade into the distance. "They've grown up a lot over the past few weeks."
To donate to the boys' memorial fund, visit www.myspace.com/groundzero2006 or call 419-344-6528.
Contact Erika Ray at:
eray@theblade.com
or 419-724-6088.
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