ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md.-The APG Sergeant Audie Murphy Club hosted an early morning ruck march to celebrate the holiday season and the end of an installation toy drive Dec. 16.
Participants had the option of running or walking a 5k or 3k which started in the APG North (Aberdeen) Post Exchange parking lot. Participants were encouraged to ruck with toys and donate them at the end for the non-profit organization Toys for Tots.
Lead event planner Staff Sgt. Byron Schwartz, of the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Command, said the purpose of the event was to allow Team APG to give back to the community, provide toys for those in need and to spread awareness of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club.
“The Sergeant Audie Murphy Club is a nonprofit private organization comprised of the top 1% of Non-Commissioned Officers in The United States Army,” Schwartz said. “One of the tenets of our organization is a burning desire to serve and give back to the community that we are sworn to protect. We recognized a need for toys in the community, and have partnered with the Toys for Tots organization to assist in giving children and parents a holiday season that they couldn’t otherwise have.”
Senior Enlisted Advisor Sgt. Maj. Erin Trudden, with the 1st Area Medical Laboratory, said approximately 300 toys were donated to Toys for Tots. The U.S. Army Communication-Electronics Command received the award for the organization which donated the most toys donated during the drive. The award was accepted by Col. Anthony Marante, the CECOM Integrated Logistics Support Center military deputy director.
(From left) Sgt. 1st Class Losivale Tally, 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Command donates a toy while her daughters Andrea Tally, 9, and Madisyn Talley, 4, look on. The APG Sergeant Audie Murphy Club hosted a ruck march to celebrate the end of an installation toy drive Dec. 16.
|By Rachel Ponder, APG News
Master Sgt. Kamera Generlette-Shaw, U.S. Department of the Army, thanked the community for their participation.
“It is amazing to see organizations and leaders get together to support our local community,” she said. “I am sure the kids will be ecstatic to see what you have done.”
Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Burris, with the 20th CBRNE Command, ran in an explosive ordnance disposal bomb suit with his two children. He wanted to raise awareness of the EOD profession, he said.
“COVID-19 has hit families pretty hard, so the reason to give this year is probably more than in the recent past,” he said. “Giving back is a great way to show that the Army supports the local community.”
For more information, visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/usagapg/albums/72177720295402608
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