A Walk for the Warriors

SANDPOINT — The sky is only beginning to lighten when the Walk for the Warriors volunteers awaken.

They gulp down coffee and a quick breakfast, then consider the miles ahead. A black string of road snakes before them, and a torrential rain is already pounding down.

Gathering their protective clothing, the volunteers prepare for a hard day’s walk. They have a schedule to keep and a cause to advance.

For military families whose breadwinners have been disabled or killed overseas, putting foot ahead of the other can be an exhausting effort. In that sense, the Walk for the Warriors, a fundraiser spearheaded by the Warrior’s Promise Foundation, is a remarkable show of solidarity in both the thematic and pragmatic senses. Their month-long, 650-mile trek through three Pacific Northwest states exists for a single purpose: to raise money for military families in need.

Former Sandpoint resident Ken Hunt, the founder and chairman of Warrior’s Promise Foundation, hopes the endeavor will increase public consideration for the difficulties many military families experience.

“We’re having a difficult time getting a hold of the communities out there,” he said. “So we planned our route to target population centers and help us get in touch with veterans.”

To fulfill that goal, Hunt and his associates at the Warrior’s Promise Foundation mapped a route through Washington, Oregon and Idaho and scheduled stops in several key cities along the way. The walkers embarked from Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Wash. on Sept. 1, then hit Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Sept. 4, Yakima on Sept. 11, the Tri-Cities on Sept. 14, and Walla Walla on Sept. 17. The crew is scheduled to stop by LeGrande, Ore., today and on Oct. 2, they’re set to complete their journey in Meridian.

And don’t think that the walkers will just unwind and recharge in the city. The Warrior’s Promise Foundation carefully selected each stop to participate in events meant to raise both funds and awareness. 

 “For example, when we reached Yakima, we were involved in a ceremony to remember the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks,” Hunt said. “Then when we arrived in Walla Walla, we paid a visit to the VA Hospital and honored POW/MIA Day.”

In order to keep their schedule, Walk for the Warriors personnel maintain long days. They rise at 6 a.m., have breakfast, and then begin the day of walking. Each day, Hunt usually fields three to five of his eight volunteers,  who burn shoe-leather in hour-long intervals. Support vehicles are never far away to ensure walker safety and refresh fielded volunteers. In the evening, the crew retires for a big supper and well-deserved rest.

“Right now, we’re actually ahead of schedule. We walked 34 miles yesterday,” Hunt said Monday morning. “And that’s been great, because it gives all of us some time to relax and take it a bit slower on other days.”

While on the road, walkers always wear a neon green safety vest similar to the kind roadside construction workers often wear. The vests are emblazoned with the group’s cause and a request for support.

“Those vests are pretty great at catching people’s attention,” Hunt said. “Just the other day we had one guy stop and ask us what we were all about, and when we explained the fundraiser he gave us $100, just like that.”

At the beginning of the week, Walk for the Warriors was about $4,000 in the green. That’s after paying off the fundraiser’s expenses, including their grand finale at the High Desert Harley Davidson in Meridian. The Sept. 2 event will feature food, live entertainment, an auction and a raffle drawing for a new 2009 Harley Davidson Super Glide. 

  The finale promises to be one of the biggest events in the Warrior’s Promise Foundation’s history. But it’s all part of the vision that lead Hunt to create the organization after he retired as a lieutenant-colonel from his long military career.

Hunt’s memories as a child growing up in Sandpoint planted the initial idea for the non-profit. During the Vietnam War in 1966, the government declared his father, William B. Hunt, missing in action, and Hunt vividly remembers the stress his mother experienced trying to support her family as a newly single mother.

After he graduated from Sandpoint High, Hunt earned his undergraduate degree and became a commissioned Army officer. He later earned a master’s degree in general administration. Through his childhood and career experiences, he determined to dedicate his post-military life to assisting the needy within the armed forces.

“I just want to encourage people to get out and support the military, even if it doesn’t necessarily mean supporting us,” Hunt said. “Although I do think that supporting us is one of the better ways of supporting the military.”

Visit http://www.warriorspromise.org/Walk-for-Warriors.aspx to sponsor a walker, purchase raffle tickets and view Walk for the Warriors’ progress.