032 REMEMBERING THE VETERANS, ONE STEP AT A TIME

5K Run/Walk Will Generate Money for On-Campus Memorial

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 22, 2006
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

(MURFREESBORO) – Some of the biggest “steps” toward construction of a veterans memorial on campus will be taken at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17 when the MTSU Veterans Memorial 5K Run/Walk gets underway.
The purpose of the event is to raise enough money to build a permanent structure in honor of faculty, administrators, staff and students who perished or went missing while in military service from 1911 to the present.
“The concept is to have a living memorial, a space for reflection and a place for classroom instruction,” Derek Frisby, a history professor and U.S. Marine sergeant who served in Operation Desert Storm, says. “We’ve proposed an amphitheatre-type model that creates usable outdoor event space.”
Dr. Andrei Korobkov, political science, was inspired to formulate a data base of names by the death of 1st Lt. Ken Ballard, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. Ballard was a student in three of Korobkov’s classes.
To date, the Veterans Memorial Committee has collected the names of more than 50 names to be engraved on a wall that will be part of the area. Also, the public will be given an opportunity to purchase walkway bricks engraved with the names of their fallen loved ones.
“We’ve made significant progress in the design process,” Frisby says. “This is the beginning of our push to turn those plans into a reality.”
To contribute to the MTSU Veterans Memorial, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/~veterans and click on “Contribute to the MTSU Veterans Memorial.”
In addition, the 278th Tennessee Army National Guard deployed to Afghanistan will collect old, used and new shoes and sneakers for Afghan children and teenagers. Donate shoes at the National Guard booth under Peck Hall next to the 5K registration area.
The 5K run/walk course, which will extend in and around campus, will be marked with water stations and security throughout the route. Entrants may run competitively, run at their own pace or walk.
Awards and prizes will be issued for team entries of registered groups of five or more and individuals in each age division. Drawings will be conducted for door prizes totaling more than $1,000 in value. T-shirts are guaranteed to all pre-registrants on a first-come, first-served basis on race day.
Sponsors of the MTSU Veterans Memorial 5K Run/Walk include AEDC Federal Credit Union, Applebee’s, Bridgestone/Firestone, MTSU Alumni Association, Nashville Predators, Norris Hall Studios, Signature Homes, Tennessee National Guard, Tennessee Titans and The Very Idea.
Registration fees are $15 per person if postmarked by Sept. 10 or $20 per person after Sept. 10, including the day of registration. Make checks payable to MTSU Veterans Memorial 5K, c/o Derek Frisby, MTSU Box 23, Murfreesboro, Tenn. 37132, or register online at http://www.active.com.
For more information, contact Maj. Chuck Giles at 1-888-682-7682 or cgiles@mtsu.edu.

--30—

ATTENTION, MEDIA: For e-mailed copies of the race application form and the poster for the donation drive for shoes and sneakers for Afghan children, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.