STEPS TO HONOR

STEPS to HONOR officially starts on Memorial Day (Monday, May 25), however, I have been running and/or walking in honor of heroes for several months so I thought I would go ahead and start blogging about it so you would have an idea of what this is all about. First of all, you don’t have to wait until May 30 to get started. Right now is a perfect time. The starting date is set only because most programs have a beginning and an end.

Today I really had to motivate myself to get moving. I had some sort of virus and didn’t darken the door of the YMCA for ten days. That is the longest I have been away from daily exercise in over 20 months. Typically, I might miss two days in a row over a weekend, but never ten! I actually handled it much better than I would have thought, but I may feel it when I get up tomorrow!

I think I have mentioned previously that I really don’t like to run. I know it is good for me so I do it, but I absolutely have to listen to my iPod. I make playlists with favorite songs and try to change the music up about once a week. Today I ran with a great mix of music by The Wrecking and Remedy Drive. By the way, both of these bands are going to be at the Ichthus Festival. We (Military Missions) will have an exhibition booth at the festival and I am hoping to get the band members to write a couple of cards to our troops!

I ran three miles today and ran in honor of the following heroes:
Retired Lexington Police Officer, Tommy Puckett
PFC Adam Puckett, USMC
ENS Jeff Milward, US Navy


Tommy Puckett happens to be Lexington's longest serving patrolman. He retired in January, after 36 years on the force. It is an honor and privilege to be able to call Tommy a friend. He would probably be embarrassed if he knew I ran in his honor and then posted it on the internet....but that is because he is a humble guy who would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need. He helps out a lot at Military Missions. Last December he helped me load 605 care packages into a borrowed police van. (Yes, it was just the two of us loading the boxes in the van!) On the way to the post office, Tommy came up with some help and we had a big crew helping to unload the packages.

Adam Puckett just happens to be the son of Officer Tommy Puckett. I guess service runs in the family! Adam is a US Marine. He just returned from a deployment in Iraq and is now training for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. I had the privilege of sending Adam and his unit some packages while they were deployed and the blessing of meeting him at the airport when he returned home to Lexington for R&R after deployment.

Jeff Milward, an officer in the US Navy, is currently serving in Afghanistan. I haven’t met Jeff yet, but I know his parents and his uncle. If Jeff is anything like the rest of the family, he has to be one amazing guy. I’m looking forward to meeting him when he gets back to Lexington!