Rolling out the welcome mats to the Legacy Run
American Legion Legacy Run Chief Road Captain Bob Sussan is charged with developing the route plan for the ride. But as this year’s ride shows, Sussan is flexible if someone presents him with a potential better alternative for a stop.
On Aug. 20, the 200-plus Legion Riders made stops in St. Joseph, Mo., and Audubon, Iowa – two spots not originally on Sussan’s plan but added after community leaders reached out to him. Both stops showed that locals were willing to roll out the welcome mat for the Legacy Run.
In St. Joseph, the ride made a stop at the Remington Nature Center, where the Riders were given water, and American Legion National Commander Denise Rohan was presented a proclamation and key to the city by Mayor Bill McMurray. He even named Aug. 20 “American Legion Legacy Run Day” in St. Joseph.
McMurray was told about the Legacy Run by a local Legionnaire and was immediately interested in making his city a stop along the way. The ride also interested local media, including ABC affiliate KQ2 News, who interviewed Rohan.
“We have a great city, and we certainly want to recognize (the Legion Riders) and salute them for their service,” McMurray said. “This is our way to do that.”
The cause behind the Legacy Run also impressed McMurray. “When I was talking to Bob, the millions of dollars (raised by the ride), I was just amazed,” he said.
In Audubon, a town of around 2,500, Legionnaire Bob Jensen saw the map of this year’s Legacy Run and realized his community was right along the route. So he reached out to Sarah Slater of Audubon County Tourism, who in turn reached out to Sussan.
“It’s a great cause,” said Slater, the wife of an Air Force veteran. “We have huge military support here, and we thought we’d just like to welcome them.”
That led to the owners of Waspy’s opening up their newly constructed truck stop a week before it was scheduled to open so that the Legion Riders could refuel both their bikes and their bodies. Brother and sister Brian and Beth Handlos, whose family owns Waspy’s, were on hand to greet the ride.
“This ride means a whole lot,” Beth said. “We’re all about family. That’s why we’re here: building what we do and farming … and giving back. We wanted to make sure we got our permits early … to be open today. It meant a lot to us.”
A large U.S. flag were set up at the town’s famed landmark, the 45-ton, 28-foot concrete Albert the Bull. And at Audubon High School, local Legionnaires and community members passed out coffee and water, opening up the school to allow the Riders to get out of the steady rain.
Ed Schelley, a Legion Rider from Post 192 in Evans, Ga., was happy to get a hot cup of coffee after spending the previous two hours dodging sheets of rain and wind gusts. “It makes you feel,” Schelley said of the reception. “They were very welcoming, take good care of us. It makes you get a warm heart.”
That the ride stopped in Audubon left Jensen, a member of Post 254 in Heyward, Iowa, beaming. “I’m on top of the world over it,” he said. “I love this sort of thing. Anything that can put a little feather in the cap of these small communities.”
Sussan said that communities wanted to be a part of the Legacy Run “goes to a lot of who we are as American Legion Riders reaching out into the community, spreading the word about The American Legion and what we do for our community and our veterans.”