Road%Warrior%News% - Road Warriors Corp.

! Road!Warriors!Corp.!501©3!
www.ROADWARRIORSCORP.org!
Road%Warrior%News%
The%2015%Charity%Run%has%
reached%its%halfway%point!%
Summer!2015!
Upcoming%Events%
July!26!
2015%Charity%Run%After%
Party!at!Buffalo!Wild!Wings!
in!Lake!Orion,!Michigan!
2015%Charity%Run%Update!%
August!3!
2015%Road%Warrior%Cancer%
Charity%Run%Finishes!in!
Leland,!MI!
It’s!been!a!crazy!four!weeks!!From!emotions!running!wild,!meeting!new!
people,!eating!new!things,!and!switching!crews!the!run!may!have!seemed!like!
a!smooth!transition!from!Florida!to!Washington!D.C.!and!Michigan.!!
August!6!
!
2015%Charity%Run%After:
After%Party%at%Sullivan's%
Public%House%in!Oxford,!MI%
August!15!!
!
Death%before%DNF%Ultra%Run!
in!Burnsville,!North!Carolina!
!
!
The!first!week!began!with!Brian!and!Brandon!running!through!Florida!with!
their!wonderful!crew!Lety!Gonzalez!and!photographer!Rob!Stites.!We!began!
the!journey!around!3am,!running!the!later!portion!of!their!first!day!from!
Downtown!West!Palm!Beach!to!Jonathan!Dickenson!State!Park!and!later!
joined!the!rest!of!the!community!at!Okeeheelee!Middle!School!to!run!to!Pete’s!
Place!in!Greenacres,!FL!for!a!breakfast!celebration.!Kris!Mercado!showed!up!
midUway!the!first!week,!with!surprise!guest!Kristen!Kelly,!as!the!guys!began!to!
split!after!Palm!Bay,!Florida.!
Second!week!began!pretty!smooth,!however!Lety’s!“dependable”!Prius!
starting!showing!signs!of!fatigue.!Kristen!donated!a!new!battery!as!then!we!
thought!that’s!all!the!little!blue!hatchback!needed.!(Story!Continues!on!Page!2)!
We%would%like%to%thank%Shane%and%Brittany%Streufert%%
for%also%hosting%us%in%their%home!%
They!had!a!lovely!home!and!accommodated!us!with!really!comfy!beds!!Thanks!
again!for!allowing!us!to!“invade”!your!space,!for!the!awesome!dinner!and!
donation!from!Viera!Pizza!Eat!my!Crust!5k!!We!hope!to!see!you!soon!!
!
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! www.ROADWARRIORSCORP.org!
Summer!2015!
Special%Thanks%to%the%Crew!%
Without%the%crew%the%guys%wouldn’t%make!%They%carry%the%supplies%and%
most%importantly%WATER!%It%has%been%a%hot%Summer!%
Along!the!way!up!north,!the!Road!
Warriors!met!Steve!Fugate.!He!was!
completing!the!last!“few”!miles!of!
his!2\year!plus,!zigzag!journey!
through!the!United!States!for!
suicide!awareness!called!the!Love!
Life!Walk.!He!was!truly!an!
inspiration!as!he!told!us!his!story!of!
how!he!lost!his!two!children!to!
suicide,!but!continued!to!live!in!
their!honor!instead!of!succumbing!
to!the!same!fate.!
As!Brian!and!Brandon!pushed!full!
force!through!Florida,!Brandon’s!
crew!switched!to!his!uncle!David.!
He!managed!to!safely!get!Brandon!
to!Jacksonville,!FL!where!they!got!
to!meet!the!wonderful!Toni!
Hernandez.!!
Brian!continued!with!his!original!
crew,!Lety!and!Rob.!While!in!
Daytona,!they!were!welcomed!
openly!to!the!home!of!the!newly!
engaged!Brian!Patterson!and!Tina.!!
Things!seemed!a!little!bit!wary,!as!
their!beloved!rescue!appeared!to!
want!to!take!a!nice!bite!off!Lety’s!
butt!for!the!first!couple!days.!But!
with!time!the!shy!canine!warmed!
up,!just!as!the!crew!was!ready!to!
leave.!Later!the!second!week,!Brian!
and!crew!made!it!to!Toni’s!
beautiful!house!(Andi,!Brian’s!
sister,!would!have,!figuratively!
speaking,!died!at!such!splendor)!!
There!was!a!wonderful!group!of!
friends!waiting!there!to!welcome!
the!guys!on!their!journey!!The!
group!of!friends!gathered!around!
Sitting%and%Sharing%stories%at%Toni’s%Home%
the!living!room!as!they!questioned!
the!Road!Warriors!with!deep!
questions!about!their!history!and!
future.!Tears!were!definitely!shed,!
people!were!inspired,!and!laughter!
filled!the!room.!Later!that!night!
they!even!managed!to!rack!a!few!
miles!with!Brandon!around!
midnight.!This!was!the!last!time!the!
guys!were!going!to!be!together!
until!Brian!finishes!his!run!to!
Washington!D.C.!
During!week!three,!in!north!
Jacksonville,!FL,!Lety’s!Prius!took!a!
turn!for!the!worse!!It!faltered!while!
David!crewed!Brandon!and!an!
emergency!stop!had!to!be!made!at!
Arlington!Toyota.!There!it!had!not!
only!one,!but!TWO,!water!pumps!
replaced.!Thankfully,!it!was!
Brandon’s!day!off!
so!both!Prius!and!runner!got!a!little!
TLC!for!the!day.!Alas,!when!Brian!
went!to!pick!up!the!car!we!were!
surprised!with!the!bill…!about!
$1,500!!Holy!“crap\ola”!!(Continued!
on!page!3)!
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www.ROADWARRIORSCORP.org
Summer 2015
Thanks Mike and Colt
at Arlington Toyota!
Prius have a gas engine and electric motor
Along with TWO water pumps!
Something that was almost
distressing turned out
wonderfully heartening!
Brian, to say the least, was uneasy
about the amount. He demanded a
clarification of the costs and it all
seemed justified. But he was
persistent; he explained his mission
and reason for his apprehension.
Fortunately, Colt and Mike, from
the privately owned dealership,
went out of their way to alleviate
the situation. They went into their
office, spoke to their supervisor and
were able to make a generous
contribution to our cause. They
loved what we were doing, cut costs
significantly and even ended up
donating two weeks worth of water!
It was amazing knowing that they
were among benevolent comrades.
From there Lety drove her Prius to
Brandon’s hotel.
She was to crew for him during his
40 miles-per-day week. It was good
thing she was there because
Brandon was experiencing both
physical and psychological
transformations that she was able to
ease and focus. During that week
he began to understand the
sensations of feeling alone, weak
and vulnerable; yet he found
strength in his experience, calling
cancer survivors Frankie, Mr.
Addie and, of course his mentor,
Brian for encouragement. Brandon
was able to reflect and empathize
with those fighting for their lives
and he persevered making it
through the whole week and then
some! After getting Brandon
through the “hump” of the week,
Lety switched roles with Rob, to
join Brian to continue some
administrative tasks. Brandon’s
aunt later that week flew in to
join Brandon and Rob on their
adventure.
After that week things evened
out. Brian and Lety went
through some towns that
seemed like time had stopped
still: no Internet or cell phone
accessibility. Stayed in VERY
modest motels. But they made
the best of it! They ended
making a friend along the way,
Dylan. He was running his
younger brother’s BBQ stand called
Silverwares BBQ and offered us his
best dishes; pulled pork sandwiches,
BBQ chicken, ribs, Oreo pudding
and his famous FULLY LOADED
POTATOE. It was an epic meal!
We sat around, ate, and talked
about travels and life’s un-
expectancies. Lastly, the week
ended with Brian making it to the
outer banks of Greenville, South
Carolina to meet the Without
Limits Crew and Brandon was
about to embark on the week where
he was planned to go un-crewed.
(To see and hear more follow us on
Facebook and our YouTube
Channel.)
Thanks again for the
amazing food Silverware
BBQ and crew!
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! www.ROADWARRIORSCORP.org!
Summer!2015!
The%Road%Warriors%would%like%to%introduce%our%%
Sponsors%and%Supporters!%
During%Brian’s%Trek%he%
ran%into%a%local%BBQ%
fundraiser!%
He!stopped!by!for!
some!good!ol’!
southern!BBQ!when!
he!heard!of!a!young!
local!boy!battling!
leukemia.!!!
Brian%and%Zack%
So!in!true!Road!
Warrior!Corp.!fashion!
we!contacted!the!
family!and!paid!for!a!
household!bill!!!
We!wish!Zack!and!
family!a!good!
recovery!!And!we!ask!
everyone!to!join!in!
and!pray!as!this!young!
one!heals!!
!
The$Road$Warrior$Beneficiaries$Update$
Our!two!“little”!ones,!Karla!Pena!
and!Emma!Thompson!are!showing!
extreme!resilience!!Karla!has!
fortunately!been!out!of!the!hospital!
besides!for!her!weekly!dialysis!and!
posting!entertaining!
“Dubsmashes”.!Emma!and!family!
have!joyfully!celebrated!her!
sister’s,!Maci,!preschool!graduation.!!
Charles!Addie!is!currently!going!
through!therapy!in!Arkansas,!
although!experiencing!back!pain;!
he’s!healing!and!enjoying!his!family!
in!Florida.!!!
Anthony!Paul!and!family!have!
found!a!place!to!call!home!and!he!is!
back!on!his!event!planning!game!!
He’s!moving,!juking!and!diving!as!
thankfully!he!solidified!a!place!for!
our!Halloween!Costume!Party!this!
year!!Stay!tuned!as!O’Shea’s,!off!
Clematis!Street!in!Downtown!West!
Palm!Beach,!confirmed!our!place!
for!2015!Moonfest!!
And!last!but!not!least,!Frankie!
Gutierrez,!our!healing,!Key!West,!
firefighter!is!going!to!go!on!another!
session!of!chemo.!Lets!all!send!
prayers!and!good!vibes!his!way!as!
he!embarks!on!this!tough!
experience.!!!
Check!out!their!stories!on!our!site.!
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! www.ROADWARRIORSCORP.org!
Summer!2015!
You!are!invited!to!join!us!in!
Michigan!!
We!have!two!parties!happening!for!our!2015!Charity!
Run!finish!!Please!join!us!as!the!guys!complete!their!run!
and!finally!kick!their!feet!up!and!have!a!beer…!or!two!!
There!will!be!music,%food,%raffles,%and%more!!
Come!meet!our!beneficiary!Emma!Thompson!and!her!
family!!She!is!healing!so!greatly!that!we!ask!the!
Thompson!family!to!find!a!surviving!friend.!So!on!those!
days!we!are!dedicating!our!donations!to!them!and!in!
support!of!pediatric!cancer!!
July%26th%@Buffalo%Wild%Wings%in%Lake%Orion,%MI%
August%6th%@Sullivan’s%Public%House%in%Oxford,%MI%
Let’s!Pay!it!Forward!!
Road!Warriors!Corp.!501©3!
6964!Silverado!Terrace!
Lake!Worth,!FL!33460!
!
[email protected]!
(561)!880U7226!
!
Board$of$Directors$
$
Brian%Thomas%
Founder$
$
Brandon%Mercado%
Co$Founder$
$
Latisha%“Lety%“%Gonzalez%
Executive$Administrator$
$
Kris%Mercado%
Treasurer$
$
$
If$you$have$any$
questions$or$
concerns$feel$free$to$
contact$us.$
!