Last May, the History and Interact Clubs worked alongside the Tri-Town Safety Village to host the first-ever “Honoring Veterans Walk/Run”, whose proceeds went toward the construction of a veterans museum on Safety Village property which has yet to be built.

“[Last year’s race] was to not only honor the veterans. [It] raised money for a museum to showcase the stories of the veterans and what we have gathered from the veterans over the years,” Mr. Clark said.

The success and positive communal feedback the race received has allowed for a second race to be hosted this spring. Many students, staff and generous community members have been instrumental in the planning process, but the true force behind this event is the community of veterans the program is geared to serve.

“The first one was our trial and [with] this one here now, we think we’ve ironed out a lot of the kinks. We just want to continuously improve [the program], and I think we are going to see great improvements [this year]. [This year’s run] is going to be more focused on the veterans, which it should be. I think this year we need to emphasize more veterans [and that] this is a run for veterans,” Mr. Clark said.

One of the great new improvements this year is the community open-house, which will take place following the new and improved 3K/5K/10K Walk/Run in the morning. Lake Central students and staff were greatly involved in the program last year, but this new addition creates a whole new outlet for the community to see the numerous artifacts that will call the veterans museum home.

“We brought [display cases] from the school [last year]. We set up a display of the individuals that gave their lives for this country, [and] we couldn’t have done it without all the students. They did a really great job,” Mr. Clark said.  

The second annual “Honoring Veterans Walk/Run” will take place on Saturday, May 21 at the Tri-Town Safety Village starting at 8:30 a.m. Anyone interested in participating in the race should go to RunSignUp.com or call 219-865-9600 for more information. The community open-house will be held immediately following the race, and the welcome ceremony for this portion will be starting at 1:15 p.m.