Members of the Honor Run Half Marathon came to the Florence city council meeting on May 13 to present a check for $33,000 to the local Honor Flight organization.
The Honor Run Half Marathon, held in Florence in November each year, raises funds to support Honor Flight Tri-State, an organization that provides free flights and celebrations in Washington, DC for veterans.
Honor Run Executive Director Scott Spicher opened by thanking the city and community for their support of the run. The 2024 run was the tenth year of the event, founded by Spicher and his wife, Laura. He is passing the event reins to Bruce Koehler, a longtime board member.
“Thank you to the entire city of Florence, not just this council, for everything you have done for our organization over the last 10 years, the support the city has given us from the fire department, the police department, the public works department, the support of the council, the support of the citizens, because it’s an undertaking on race day with all the roads that get closed down and the travel restrictions and everything else,” said Spicher.
Spicher thanked St. Elizabeth Healthcare for supporting the event. He also thanked Honor Flight Tri-State Director Cheryl Popp and her staff. Since its inception, Honor Run has raised $430,000 in support of the Honor Flight, which has sent 800 veterans from our area to DC over the decade.
“It’s the welcome home they should have gotten when they came home from Korea or from Vietnam or for the World War Two vets who are still around,” Spicher said. “So to be able to serve these veterans in the way that Honor Flight Tri-State takes care of these veterans has been an honor and a privilege of a lifetime to be able to work with this organization and to be able to support them in the mission that they do.”
For more information, see the Honor Run Half Marathon website and the Honor Flight Tri-State website.