Organizers have pulled the plug on both Loops for the Troops and Breakfast on the bridge, blaming tough economic times.
“It was a very difficult decision. The reason we cancelled was the lack of corporate sponsorship,” Lt.-Col. (Ret’d) Bill Schultz, who is the race director for Loops for the Troops, said.
Loops for the Troops was started in June of 2008 by Michael Hornburg, in memory of his son Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, who was killed in combat while in Afghanistan in September of 2007. The annual event included a five kiloemtre and 10-kilometre walk or run and honoured the service of Canada’s military and first responders.
“I had begun running races with Nathan when he was just in grade school – cross country runs – and it just grew out of that idea and it must have really touched a chord in our community because so many people came that very first year,” Michael Hornburg said of that first event held on Father’s Day in 2008. Nathan was born on Father’s Day in 1983.
Loops for the Troops has been a success over the past seven years, raising a half-million dollars for military families, scholarships and funding the construction of several memorials in Calgary.
“I think it’s incredible because these monuments serve as a reminder for the sacrifices by so many people that allow me and other people to have the quality of life that we have here in our community,” Hornburg said on Monday.
Organizers also worry about the declining number of people taking part in the annual run and walk, attributing that to the fading attention being paid to veterans from Afghanistan.
“I believe that’s a big part of it,” Schultz said. “When we started this, we were in the middle of Afghanistan and the military was on the TV in the news every single day. It had a lot of awareness. Now it’s not getting the coverage that it did.”
The cancellation of Breakfast on the Bridge has also been a hit to Calgary’s Military Family Resource Centre. The annual event has been held on the Peace Bridge every June. In the past, money raised at the event has gone towards a retreat focused on soldiers and their families coping with post-traumatic stress disorder.
In a statement released earlier this month, the Breakfast on the Bridge organizing committee said:
“After two incredible annual morning breakfasts on the Peace Bridge, our entire committee had been looking forward to holding our Third Annual Breakfast this coming June. However, sometimes things just do not work out the way you might like; in light of the current economic situation in Alberta and in Calgary especially, we decided to take a serious look at the 2016 Breakfast on the Bridge.
It is with a true sense of regret that we have decided not to hold a Breakfast on the Bridge this year, and to instead work together to make the 2017 Breakfast on the Bridge even better than ever.”
Organizers of both events hope to bring them back again next year, but are reminding Calgarians of the importance of the funds raised by the events, for both veterans and their families.
“It’s extremely important. They made the ultimate sacrifice,” Schultz said. “They are people that are damaged for life and they did it in order for the rest of the people in this country to be able to live in a free society.”
Calgary Flames forward Joe Colborne is hosting a benefit concert on June 23, featuring country music group Emerson Drive, with proceeds going to support the Support our Troops program as well as The Military Museums Foundation.
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