St. Jude Jeep Run 2023, a Family Affair

 

[June 27, 2023] 

Saturday June 24th was a hot but perfect day for the 4th annual St. Jude Jeep Run. The run lasted throughout the day stopping at various pubs, having auctions, and raising money with all proceeds going directly to St. Jude.

Cassidy Ferguson, one of the coordinators of the Jeep run, noted that running in St. Jude’s Run/Walk is a family affair and the reason for the Jeep run. The Jeep run came about in 2019 when Ferguson was participating in the Memphis to Peoria Run/Walk and needed to raise funds for St. Jude. Her cousin, Rhonda O’Donoghue, ran from Lincoln to Peoria when Lincoln still had a team. Another cousin, Austin O’Donoghue, runs from Washington to Peoria. The reason for running and the passion for St. Jude is because the three cousins lost a family member, Wes O’Donoghue, to childhood cancer.

A special guest in attendance Saturday was Uzay Togay, who was diagnosed with cancer after feeling pain in his hip when playing soccer. After having an MRI he was on the road to St. Jude where they diagnosed him with Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone cancer that is very aggressive. He was extremely fortunate it was caught in time. He went through nine months of chemo, one week with three treatments and the next week with three. In the middle of all of that, he got a resection of his iliac wing (hip bone). Through the love and support of St. Jude he is now healthy and back to playing soccer!

There were 87 registered jeeps/old cars/bikes at the Jeep event and almost 250 people in attendance. This year, the event raised $6,426.80 for a total over four years of nearly $15,000, even with one year off in 2020 due to Covid.

 

With last year’s participation being around 58 jeeps, it is anticipated that this successful event will continue to grow.

[Heather Gaule]