WOW! (that is how I feel as I write this on Nov 9, 2001)

I am Kathy Connolly and I was the Western AZ running coordinator. I signed up to help like everyone else, but lucky for me I signed up pretty early, because I received a call one day from Ken White who asked if I could help him out with the FLAGRUN. Of course I said yes, but I had no idea what I was in for. It was going to be 3 weeks of trying to schedule runners, emailing and phoning as many people as I could. I felt overwhelmed, so I enlisted the help of Anne Wilke who also registered to help on the website. She had registered twice because she was begging to help. Her zip code was the same as mine so I knew we could work on this together. I gave her a call and thank goodness she agreed to help me, because she ended up being my saving grace. Not only with scheduling, but she stayed with the RV from Phoenix to California and was greatly needed. Thank you Anne!

Another high point for me was meeting AAL Pilot Mike Stasio. He seemed to need some help with sleeping arrangements, so without hesitation, I told him to just get to AZ (from California), I would pick him up at the airport, he could stay at my house and catch a ride with me to the run the next day. He did just that! He also stayed with the RV all the way to CA, he said he wanted to run about 12 miles, but I think all-in-all, he ran about 25 over the 2 days. I now have 2 friends for life and will keep in touch with them and their families forever.

Yet another huge help was Charlene Fugiel from Tucson. She donned herself with the title of SW Coordinator and she deserved it! She brought with her about 20 Firefighters and 10 AAL employees from SW Arizona, thanks Charlene, you were awesome!

Another amazing person who helped out was Sgt Sean Connolly, my husband. He handled all of the police escorts through Phoenix and I couldn’t have done this without him. Thanks for putting up with me for 3 weeks while I did nothing but talk on the phone, whenever the phone rang, he would say “FLAGRUN Central”.

As for me, this experience was the greatest of my life. I was so happy to be a part of this event and will never forget the way I feel right now. My sprits are so high, I feel like I could walk on water. My only regret is that I only spent one day with the RV, all be it a 13 hour day but that wasn’t long enough, I should have stayed on until CA. However, I am thankful for the one day I had. I didn't realize it until it was happening, but being a part of this flagrun was a healing experience for me. It helped me to really see what "stuff" the American people are made of. They are made of "GUTS, GLORY and most of all COMPASION". It showed every time we drove passed the people who came out to cheer us on. Even just the one person standing at the foot of their driveway, clapping and yelling, Go USA! That is exactly what this run was about, people helping people, uniting as a country and completing the FLAGRUN mission (it became my mission).

I am making a scrapbook of the run and I have a lot to put in it. I will talk about this for the rest of myself and I know I will never forget, any of you!! I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I am going to try to plan a 1year reunion party for AZ on November 9, 2002. I hope they keep the website up and running until then, so I can send a blast email.

Peace and Love to All,

Kathleen Connolly
FLAGRUN Coordinator
Keep in touch everybody!

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