By Rick Dandes
LEWISBURG — About 50 of the 85 members of Bucknell University’s Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity ran a mile across campus Thursday night, the initial leg of their sixth annual Ronald Reagan Run for Alzheimer’s fundraising road relay to Washington, D.C.
Last year’s run raised $39,000 in donations for the Alzheimer’s Association. This year’s goal is $40,000, said co-chairman Drew Bundschuh. The association is a nonprofit group dedicated to funding research to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
“We do this run every year in honor of President Reagan, who was a member of TKE,” said Reynolds Risseeuw, the event’s second co-chairman.
Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and died in 2004.
The 180-mile trek will be completed in stages by more than 50 TKE members in four days, with at least one person running at all times of the day.
“We have a set of 13 cars with a pre-set number of fraternity brothers riding inside,” Bundschuh said. “We assign each car a specific leg of the route. It’s that car’s job to run that route, so it is basically a relay down to Washington.”
The run ends at 2 p.m. Monday in front of the South Lawn of the White House, where a representative from the Alzheimer’s Association will meet the runners for a check-presentation ceremony.
“We’re raising money through sponsorships from family, alumni, businesses and the campus community,” Bundschuh said.
The Reagan Run is a bonding experience for fraternity members, he noted. “It also gives a chance to spend time with our new 25-man candidate class. We try to integrate them with the older TKE members in the cars, so it’s a great way for them to get to know us and vice versa.”
Risseeuw said: “It’s a great feeling to see such a large amount of money being donated to this cause. It’s very gratifying, and it’s fun.”
