A RIDE TO REMEMBER
Coleman Memorial Ride a Success
On Saturday, August 8th, the organization Bikers Save Lives partnered with the website www.SheriAnnherboys.com to host a motorcycle ride to benefit the building of the ‘Sheri, Gavin & Garrett Coleman Memorial Pavilion’. The three were slain in May of this year and the tragic circumstances surrounding their deaths rocked the citizens of Columbia and the surrounding area. While organizers of the ride were hopeful for a good turnout, the number of participants exceeded their expectations. Over 650 cyclists and others took part in the ride which began in Columbia and then went to Sauget, New Athens, Sparta, Red Bud and back to Columbia. State and local police departments escorted and aided the group as they made their way through the ride.
The idea for a memorial came from Meeghan Turnbaugh, a close personal friend to Sheri Coleman and her family. After the deaths of Sheri, Gavin and Garrett, Turnbaugh sought for ways to preserve their memory and the creation of a website had begun. Turnbaugh spoke to Mario Coleman, brother of Sheri, and he agreed with the idea and provided the name of the website, replacing the word ‘and’ with her middle name Ann. After the development of the website the idea for a physical memorial came about and they registered as a not for profit charity and began to solicit donations for the memorial on the website. The financial goal for the building of the memorial pavilion is $300,000.00.
Not long after that two local boys, Jeff and Robbie Repasz, wanted to help. They held a Garage Sale to benefit the memorial fund for their friends and former football teammates Garrett and Gavin. As word spread about the boys efforts people from all over the area stopped at the Garage Sale to donate. At the end of the day they had raised over $5700.00. In addition the boys’ efforts were well documented in local newspapers and on local radio and TV news. As a result there was new awareness about the memorial and the website and others touched by the tragedy wanted to help too.
Bikers Saves Lives, a local organization of cycle enthusiasts, began five years ago in order to help a local woman stricken with Leukemia. Each year the organization held a ride and fund raiser at Top Shooters Restaurant and Bar in Columbia. The woman is now cancer free so the organization contacted Meeghan to coordinate this year’s ride giving the proceeds to the Coleman memorial fund. In addition to the rider fees each cyclist paid to participate, their were raffles, 50/50 tickets and silent auctions of numerous items donated specifically for the event. In the end they raised over $23,000.00 for the Coleman memorial fund.
I asked organizer Meeghan Turnbaugh what she thought of the communities’ response to the ride and fund raiser. “I believe that people in the community and surrounding area came together to heal and to show that good overcomes evil. It’s hard to move forward but we can do it together because we care. We want to make a positive impact for the kids and community, helping people to heal. Not that we’ll ever be totally free from it but it helps us move on and remember Sheri, Gavin and Garrett.”
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