Run for the Fallen made trek through Orleans County over weekend
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Curt Follman of Waterport welcomes the 15 participants in the Run for the Fallen who spent the night at his home on Saturday. Runners left Syracuse on Friday morning and arrived in Buffalo on Sunday. Along the way, they stop, display a flag and say a prayer for a fallen soldier.
Jeanne Crane and her daughter Kelly Follman take time for a picture during supper at Follman’s home, where they hosted participants in the Run for Fallen on Saturday night.
WATERPORT – A local family, Curt and Kelly Follman of Waterport, first heard about the Run for the Fallen when Kelly met Lori Jablonski in Annapolis, where the Follmans’ daughter Annabelle attends. Jablonski was organizer of the run for several years.
Last year, the Follmans offered to host a contingent of runners at their home overnight, and repeated the invitation again this year. Saturday night, 15 participants, some runners and others a support crew, arrived for supper and spent the night. A neighbor on vacation also offered use of their home for the runners.
The Follmans have a lot of reasons to support those who served in the military. Curt is a veteran; son Thomas is a captain in the Marines; daughter Elisabeth is a staff sergeant, employed in cyber security; son Roy John is a first-class petty officer in the Coast Guard; daughter Annabelle attends Annapolis; son Aaron is a police officer in Washington, D.C.; and son Sam is a firefighter and paramedic in Illinois. Only their oldest daughter Kayleen chose a different career – a singer, and she is a soprano living in Texas.
Curt said when Kelly, who is a teacher in Lyndonville, retires in July, they will be doing some traveling to visit their children.
The Run for the Fallen starts in Syracuse and ends in Buffalo on Sunday at Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park. Runners cover 50 miles a day, accompanied by support vehicles and take turns running and riding.
Stops are designated along the way to salute a flag dedicated to a New York hero and his or her family. This run there were 142 heroes honored.
On Saturday evening, Jablonski presented a flag to Curt and Kelly, in return for their hospitality.
The run is a way of keeping spirits of fallen service members alive, aiding in the healing process of their comrades, and thanking the New York families who have been affected by the war for their sacrifices.
Linda Jackson of Starkville, who was accompanied by her daughter Amy Geweye, said for 10 years she made 10 dozen peanut butter cookies with chocolate frosting for the participants. She has driven a support vehicle for 11 years.
This was the fifth year for Nancy Weber of Syracuse. Her father was a Navy veteran and served in Vietnam.
“I do it for him,” she said.
Information on the New York Run for the Fallen and how to donate can be found on their website at newyork.usarunforthefallen.org or www.honorandremember.org.
Curt and Kelly Follman of Wilson Road Extension welcomed runners in the Run for Life Saturday night for the second time. At their home here are Kelly’s mother, Jeanne Crane, Shari Rotoli of Holley, Curt Follman and David Rotoli. Curt and David are both veterans.
Linda Jackson and Amy Geweye, both of Starkville, are silhouetted against Lake Ontario at the home of Curt and Kelly Follman, where they spent the night as two of the participants in the Run for the Fallen.
