Official Selection at Seattle International Film Festival playing at Uptown Theater, May 28 at 6PM. Second showing Harvard Exit, May 29 at 4PM.
Team Jesse sponsors children of fallen soldiers to attend weekend bereavement camps.
The Moyer Foundation is committed to supporting the needs of children of military families who are grieving a loss. The Foundation, through their existing Camp Erin program, is actively reaching out to military children in San Diego, in collaboration with the USO (United Service Organization), and in Washington State with USO Puget Sound. Camp Erin locations across the country welcome children of military families who have lost someone close to them.
Watch video to learn more about this amazing program.
Team Jesse funds Challenge Grants to enable survivors in military families to honor their loved one by challenging themselves through service to the community.
After the casualty officer leaves and support fades, families are left with a loss that forever changes their lives. Team Jesse has partnered with The Travis Manion Foundation to offer opportunities for children, parents, spouses, siblings and battle buddies to honor their loved one by challenging themselves in uniquely personal ways.
Successful Challenge Grant applicants outline project details, clear goals, and a definition of success – and share with us how their personal challenge will honor their loved one. Applicants receive Challenge Grant funds to help them achieve their goal and honor the spirit, service, and life of their relative or battle buddy.
Learn more about this unique program.
The Team Jesse Foundation sent a lacrosse team to Miami to participate in the 2012 Lacrosse Wear Bump & Grind Lacrosse Tournament. Over the course of an exciting weekend of solid lacrosse action, Team Jesse played with a heavy heart and an unwavering mission to support the families of the fallen.
Ben Wise Helmet Sticker
Led by Team Jesse Foundation President and Co-Founder, Kevin Mincio, the squad came together to celebrate a successful first year in existence as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization helping families of the fallen, to share the news about a documentary film about The Ride that will be released in early 2012 and to honor a fallen soldier named SFC Ben Wise.
As the team rallied together on Friday afternoon to prepare for their first game against the Broward County All-Stars, Sergeant First Class Ben Wise was being laid to rest in Virginia Beach, VA. SFC Benjamin Wise, 34, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was on his fourth deployment overseas when he was injured on January 9, 2012 during an insurgent attack on his unit in Konduz Province, Afghanistan. He died on January 15, 2012 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany and was laid to rest January 27, 2012. SFC Wise was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal. He is survived by his wife, Traci, his sons Luke and Ryan, and his daughter Kailen.
SFC Wise served with Mincio in the Army as an infantryman assigned to the 5-20th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. Mincio, SFC Wise and the late SSG Jesse Williams, who is the inspiration for the creation of The Team Jesse Foundation, were deployed to Iraq together as members of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
As Team Jesse took the field, SFC Wise’s death was a vivid reminder of the ongoing sacrifices of our American troops and their families as they fight for our freedoms and values every day.
LAX Vegas Originals
Knowing of Ben’s sacrifice, and that of Jesse Williams’ too, the team took the field with fire, passion, intensity and extra motivation that carried them to the finals. With a roster comprised of several Team Jesse originals dating back to its lacrosse creation in 2007, the squad of ”veteran” players had their work cut out for them. Mike Corry, Adam Hughes, Team Jesse Co-Founder Matt Corry, Sean Monahan, Mincio, Thierry Francois, Kevin Owens and TJ Leadership Team member Matt Sauri all brought the collective age of the team well into the mid to upper 30s.
With the help of returning TJ vets like Chris Deist, Marc Digiovanni, Ian Cadieu, Sean McTernan, Anthony Kelly, Josh Rachman and Jeremy Waks, the team was able to bring the average age down to the low to mid 30s. When Brett Queener, Chris Manley and Joe Cahill were added to the roster, they brought the age down a bit more, but ultimately Eric Farber, John Harrington, Ken Gaziano and Tom Dunn made it possible to allow Team Jesse to qualify as a Masters team in most tournaments.
The old timers of Team Jesse had an exciting run to the championship. On Friday afternoon, they beat the Broward County All Stars 13-2. Kevin Owens and Anthony Kelly handled the faceoff duties and gave a clear edge to TJ on the draws. The Corry Brothers paced the squad with about 3 or 4 goals and a handful of assists between them, but it was clearly a team effort. Rachman, Cadieu, Harrington, Deist, Graziano and Monahan kept the opponents at bay and Mincio and Queener kept the ball out the net. Tom Dunn was all over the midfield and Marc Digiovanni (Digger) and Joe Cahill added firepower from up top, while the attack of Waks, Francois, Sauri, Farber, McTernan and Mikey C kept the poise on offense.
TJ OT Win
Saturday morning saw a closer game for Team Jesse, with a hard fought 7-6 overtime win vs. a tough Head Strong/Lacrosse Wear. Featuring Bo Lamon and Ryan Burton from Lacrosse Wear, who are the exclusive uniform suppliers for Team Jesse, Head Strong pushed TJ To The Limit! In a back and forth game, it was a hard charging Mike Corry who took the ball to the cage to seal the win for TJ. Mid game heroics at the faceoffs by Kevin Owens (KO) and Anthony Kelly (A-Train) helped gain the extra possessions needed, while Brett Queener came up with some exciting saves and created some transition opportunities for the squad. Another solid display by the defense and keepers, holding a strong team to 6 goals, helped Team Jesse gain the momentum they needed heading into game three of the tournament.
TJ Leadership & Brett Queener
Between games on Saturday, Team Jesse rookie Brett Queener gathered the squad together for a team building exercise that was a special moment for the players. Each man was asked to talk about why they were playing for TJ and what it meant to them. The candor of the players and the emotion of the moment propelled TJ into the afternoon. Special thanks to Brett for his effort.
Facing a Wave Dog team that looked young and fast, Team Jesse controlled the faceoffs handily. In a game that featured brief runs by both teams, it was the 2 point shooting of Anthony Kelly and two acrobatic goals by Eric Farber that made the difference. Francois and Owens and Hughes and Cahill also contributed. Perhaps others too, but who can remember? The 11-7 win propelled Team Jesse into the number 2 seed, with 3 wins and a 16 goal differential entering the playoffs on Sunday.
TJ & Keith Richards
Saturday night featured a team dinner and some fun in South Beach for the squad. Amnesia hosted a packed tournament party and Jeremy Waks showed TJ some great hospitality. It was also nice that Keith Richards was even in town to cheer TJ on.
Sunday morning would bring another tough battle for Team Jesse. This time vs. Team Buddha, the number 3 seed, who made it to the semi finals with 4 wins. Buddha had a similar road to Team Jesse into the semis with one big win and three close games. In the end, Team Jesse prevailed 8-7 in Double overtime.
As last year’s Bump & Grind Champions, the Brine Kings were the clear favorite to repeat and their road to the finals showed it. Putting up nearly 40 points and sporting a 26 goals differential, the Kings were the odds on favorite. With Tim Booth and Nate Watkins on their roster, Team Jesse’s 2007 squad was well represented on the Kings. Throw in Justin Smith who has plays for Matt Suari’s Wimmer Solutions Elite Squad, and 3 of the Kings were members of the TJ family.
TJ Finals Squad
Unfortunately for Team Jesse, the Kings were too tough. Faced with a quick 5 or 6 goal deficit, Mincio called a time out to regroup. Making sure to remind the team that they were representing SFC Ben Wise and the families of the fallen, he made sure everyone played with a warrior spirit and with pride and determination through the final whistle. TJ was able to score a few goals down the stretch but ultimately lost 10-3. With heads held high and with pride in their effort, Team Jesse truly played To The Limit!
Brine Kings
Congratulations to the Brine Kings on a great game and a second consecutive Bump & Grind Championship.
By placing second in the 2012 Bump & Grind Tournament, representing SFC Ben Wise with honor and integrity, acknowledging and celebrating an initial first year of success with The Ride and a pending documentary film to be released in the spring and making sure to share the story of their mission to provide education and support to families of the fallen, Team Jesse truly over-achieved in the trip to Miami.
Thanks to all those who have asked about Team Jesse, inquired about donating to their cause or playing with their team. Special thanks to those that have offered to sponsor their efforts in the future. Without the lacrosse community, Team Jesse would not be where it is today.
Watch KING 5 video with Wimmer Solutions CEO, Matt Sauri, to see how his participation in The Team Jesse Ride influenced the giving campaign at his company.
Wimmer Solutions CEO Matt Sauri discusses the company’s commitment to community engagement and volunteerism, its Care Creates Community Challenge, and his own experience riding a bike across America in support of the Team Jesse Foundation.
Not only is Wimmer Solutions one of the top masters and elite lacrosse teams in the post-collegiate lacrosse world, but they are a respectable organization as well. Besides winning titles in Hawaii this year, a bunch of the players ran a free clinic for local kids. In honor of those titles, Wimmer Solutions has chosen four charities to support and will be sending players from the teams to personally deliver funds: $20,000 in total to organizations hand-selected by the players.
Each player got up in front of the group to discuss their reasoning for picking those charities and the players will be involved in delivering the funds. Obviously the Hawaii championship is pretty competitive in itself, but Wimmer CEO Matt Sauri added a caveat this year for the boys: the donations would go based on the team’s results. So since both the Wimmer Master’s and Elite teams won, each organization gets $5,000.
Sauri describes the all-out effort of his teams as nothing he’s seen, including one play in the championship when Max Seibald got mugged at one end, chased the ball down on the other and turned it all the way back around for a goal.
“It was all effort, and these heroic plays are different than anything I’ve ever seen at that tournament,” Sauri says. “I didn’t have to remind the guys about what we were playing for; they knew it, and they were vocal amongst themselves about it”
Above are a mix of photos of the Master’s and Elite teams, as well as some shots from Wimmer Solutions free clinic. Here are the four charities that Wimmer Solutions will be donating to:
Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership Corporation (suggested by Brett Queener and Connor Martin)
Supersonics Lacrosse (Suggested by Adam Messick)
Starlight Children’s Foundation Mid Atlantic (Suggested by Chris Taylor)
New Beginnings (Suggested by Adam Messick and Chris Taylor)
John Jiloty of Inside Lacrosse Magazine recognizes the efforts of Team Jesse and our sponsor Wimmer Solutions.
Wimmer Solutions is perennially one of the top two teams at the Hawaii Invitational, and this year should be no different. They will be without their arch-rival Crease Monkeys, who aren’t bringing a team to the islands, but that doesn’t mean Wimmer won’t have another stacked lineup. And as we learned on Tuesday, it’s a good thing since this new Dirty Lax team looks dangerous.
Wimmer CEO Matt Sauri’s goal with his teams is always to include not just great players, but good team guys and dynamic community spokemen. He says he’s looking for good sportsmen as much as all-stars, and it’s proven to be a successful strategy.
Wimmer has also prided itself on their Elite and Master’s Teams helping each other out in Hawaii, with some of the Elite guys helping to coach the Master’s squad, and a few of the Masters players getting some burn with the Elite group.
Here’s a look at Wimmer’s group for this year’s Hawaii Lacrosse Invitational, which starts Friday at Kapiolani Park in Honolulu. Inside Lacrosse regrettably won’t be making the trip this year but we look forward to making a triumphant comeback in 2012.
Good to see a few new additions to the Wimmer roster: Ben Rubeor, Connor Martin, John Galloway and Kyle Menendez joining what is a great tradition.
And here’s to Sauri and goalie Kevin Mincio resting those weary legs in the sand in Hawaii. After biking across the country to raise money for Team Jesse, those guys deserve some R&R.
Forbes covers The Ride
At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, Kevin Mincio was a Goldman Sachs vice president in a middle of a meeting at the firm’s One Liberty Plaza offices in Lower Manhattan. A little more than two years later he was in Iraq with the Army, not far from where Saddam Hussein was captured by his fellow soldiers. And on Sunday Kevin will ride into lower Manhattan after a cross-country bike trek that is fulfilling a promise he made to a friend killed in action. Mincio is completing a 4,200-mile bike ride from California to the site of the Twin Towers on behalf of the Team Jesse Foundation, which helps families of fallen soldiers in memory of his friend, Army Staff Sergeant Jesse Williams and the thousands who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks and the war on terror.
Rick Hampson includes Kevin Mincio’s story and the Team Jesse mission in USA Today
Sept 11, 2001, the day that defined a decade, was followed by many red letter dates. On Oct. 7, 2001, U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan. Baghdad fell April 9, 2003. We remember when Saddam Hussein was caught (12/13/03) and Osama bin Laden was killed (5/2/11). (Terrorists hit Madrid 3/11/04, and London 7/7/05.)
But the decade since 9/11 also has a less obvious calendar of dates when history pivoted while we weren’t looking.
This calendar is made up of hidden, overlooked, misunderstood, private or secret events, each related directly or indirectly to the attacks. Its dates, momentous and trivial, have shaped the nation in ways large and small.
2/21 Wall Street to Army
Enlistment day for Kevin Mincio, who at 31 is trading a Wall Street office and a beachfront house for a private’s billet in the Army. Five months ago, Mincio stood at Liberty and Church streets in Lower Manhattan and watched a Boeing 767 hit the Trade Center. Now he wants to get out from behind a desk and do something about the crime he saw. He’s an anomaly: Military enlistment doesn’t increase much as a result of 9/11. Mincio serves until May 2005, including a tour in Iraq, then moves to Seattle and starts a new job. On the summer of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, in memory of a buddy killed in Iraq in 2007, he cycles coast-to-coast to raise money for families of fallen vets.
NBC Philadelphia News features Team Jesse by Rosemary Connors, Bruce Ryan
View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.
A coast-to-coast journey will end at ground zero in New York on Sunday, the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. A soldier and his friend are riding in memory of a fallen comrade. They call themselves “Team Jesse.”
Continued coverage of Team Jesse by Guy Kovner in The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, CA
Kevin Mincio, a 40-year-old Iraq war veteran, mingled with other tourists on Friday at Valley Forge, where Gen. George Washington’s Continental Army endured the cold, wet winter of 1777-78.
En route to the historic site near Philadelphia, Mincio and his traveling teammate, Matt Sauri, passed the 4,000-mile mark of their cross-county bicycle journey that began 86 days earlier in Santa Rosa.
Specifically, the two cyclists departed on June 9 from the Santa Rosa Memorial Park gravesite of Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Williams, a Bronze Medal recipient who was killed in Iraq in 2007.
They are now within days and less than 200 miles of their goal, Ground Zero in Manhattan, where Mincio and Sauri, 41, intend to arrive on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.
“We are exactly where we said we’d be,” Mincio said Friday in a telephone interview.
Wearing red, white and blue cycling uniforms, Mincio and Sauri are riding under the banner of the Team Jesse Foundation, a nonprofit formed last year to raise money for the families of fallen soldiers.
Gettysburg Times Staff Writer Jess Haines covers Team Jesse.
Two bicyclists pedaling across the country to raise money to benefit families of fallen soldiers took time to tour the Gettysburg National Military Park Wednesday before continuing north to New York City in time for the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Kevin Mincio and Matt Sauri are two friends from the West Coast who started riding from Santa Rosa, Calif. on June 9. The ride, supported by the Team Jesse Foundation, is a continuation of a promise Mincio made to his friend, SSG Jesse L. Williams, before he left on his second tour of duty in Iraq in 2006.
Williams had recently become a father to Amaya, and asked Mincio to look after his daughter financially if he were to die in combat. Unfortunately, that day came on April 8, 2007, and Mincio is making good on his promise, both for Amaya, and for other families.
“We’re raising money and awareness,” said Mincio of the cross country ride. The mission of the Team Jesse Foundation is “to provide education and support to families of fallen soldiers.”
Inside Lacrosse Magazine covers Team Jesse.
Kevin Mincio and Matt Sauri of The Team Jesse Foundation will be present at Major League Lacrose Championship Weekend in Annapolis, Md., and hosting a fundraiser for their foundation.
Championship Weekend is a stop on their 95-day, 4,200-mile bike ride across the country to honor the sacrifices of SGG Jesse L. Williams, who died on April 8, 2007 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from small arms fire while conducting combat operation, and raise funds for families of fallen soliders and first responders. The Ride’s finale will be on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Team Jesse Foundation will be participating in the Major League Lacrosse Fan Zone exhibitor area throughout the weekdend and will be introduced to the fans during the first semi-final game Saturday. Team Jesse will also host a fundraising meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. Armadillo’s Bar & Grill, 132 Dock Street Annapolis, Md.
Mike Conneen covers Team Jesse for News Channel 8 in Washington D.C.
Two men are pedaling their way across the country to raise money for military families. Kevin Mincio and Matt Sauri stopped at Arlington National Cemetery Wednesday to honor two friends who are buried there side-by-side.
They passed the 3,800-mile mark of their 4,200-mile journey that started in California in early June. Their ride started in Santa Rosa, Calif., at the gravesite of Staff Sgt. Jesse Williams.
They climbed the Rocky Mountains and escaped a heat wave across the Midwest. Through it, they say Marine Lt. Travis Manion and Navy Lt. Brendan Looney inspired them to keep peddling forward.
The Naval Academy roommates were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively. They’re buried side-by-side at Arlington National Cemetery.
The two bicyclists were greeted by the Manion and Looney families Wednesday and left two flags they carried on their bikes.
“Two just extraordinary soldiers that we are just honored to be able to say thank you to in person and have the support of their family while we do that,” Mincio said.
The families say they are grateful for this tribute.
NBC 29 reports on The Ride in Charlottesville, VA.
The Team Jesse Foundation’s Ride Across America is raising money for families of fallen soldiers and first responders in honor of a soldier killed while serving in Iraq.
This bike ride started about two months ago in California. It’s named in honor of Jesse Williams who died fighting in Iraq. Now Team Jesse is working to make sure his name lives on for a good cause.
Team Jesse co-founder Kevin Mincio says he remembers the September 11th attacks like they were yesterday. “I was right across the street from the towers when the first plane hit. I was out on the street when the second plane hit, and I was mad about that.”
He turned that anger into a call of duty. Mincio said, “After 9/11 I enlisted as an infantryman. I served with Staff Sergeant Jesse Williams who was killed April 8th 2007.”
Now Mincio along with his friend Matt Sauri are honoring Jesse Williams with a cross country bike ride. They started in William’s California hometown on what would have been his 30th birthday. Two months and 3,500 miles later they’ve made it to Charlottesville.
CBS 19 reports on The Ride in Charlottesville, VA.
Sharon C. Fitzgerald of The Daily Progress reports on The Ride from Charlottesville, VA.
Two Seattle businessmen biking across country to raise money for families of fallen soldiers rode into Charlottesville on Saturday.
Longtime friends Kevin Mincio and Matt Sauri have spent the last three months biking from California to New York City. Their goal is to arrive in New York by the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The ride is also a continuation of a promise Mincio made to an Army buddy, Staff Sgt. Jesse L. Williams, who was killed in 2007 in Iraq.
“This ride has given me the opportunity to continue to make a difference in a way besides myself,” Mincio said Saturday. “When I joined the Army I felt it was my duty to serve my country and now I feel like I’m taking it a step further to help other families on behalf of their loved ones who lost their lives in service.”
NBC LEX 18 News reports on Team Jesse’s visit to the grave site of Corporal Nicholas J. Dieruf in Lexington, KY.
Gateway Pundit
Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, July 23, 2011
Team Jesse was started in 2007 by Kevin Mincio and Matt Corry to honor Kevin’s fallen friend and comrade, SSG Jesse L. Williams. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Kevin left a Wall Street job to join the Army and served a tour of duty in Iraq with Jesse, where they became close friends. Before Jesse left for his 2nd tour of duty, after earning a Purple Heart in his 1st tour, he asked Kevin to “look after” his daughter Amaya in the event Jesse didn’t make it back. Kevin obliged and Team Jesse is one of the ways Kevin is fulfilling his promise.
Fox & Friends reports on Naval Academy roommates reunited in death
Janet Manion and Amy Looney honor fallen heroes Travis Manion and Brendan Looney as well as promote the 9/11 Heroes Run in which Team Jesse will participate as partners of the Travis Manion Foundation.
The success of the 9/11 Heroes Run proves that our fallen heroes will not be forgotten! The money raised and the awareness created by this event goes a long way in showing the families of our fallen and wounded heroes how much their community truly cares and appreciates their sacrifice. The mission of the 9/11 Heroes Run is to spread awareness of the sacrifices of our heroes far and wide. It is in Travis Manion’s honor that we continue to move forward with our mission. His heroic acts and selflessness have provided more than enough inspiration for us to do so.
Kay Quinn and Mike Bush report on The Team Jesse Ride
Written by Sheila Condon
St. Louis, MO (KSDK) – A bicycle team raising money for the families of fallen soldiers rode into St. Louis on Thursday.
Team Jesse is riding from California to New York in memory of Sgt. Jesse Williams.
Two major life changing events prompted Kevin Mincio, 40, to start Team Jesse. Mincio was a vice-president at Goldman Sachs when the planes hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. What he saw that day inspired him to enlist in the Army at the age of 31.
Minicio served a tour in Iraq with a Stryker Brigade and lost a number of comrades, including one of his closest friends, Jesse Williams. Mincio promised Williams he would look after wife and newborn daughter if Williams didn’t come home. That experience prompted him to start a charitable foundation, Team Jesse, which provides education support and other benefits for the children of fallen soldiers.
Team Jesse is hosting a fundraiser Thursday, July 21 at Helen Fitzgerald’s at 3650 S. Lindbergh Blvd. It starts at 6:00 p.m. and runs until closing.
Matt Sauri is joining Mincio on the cross-country bike ride, which will last 95 days and cover 4,200 miles.
Dave Glover is the #1 afternoon show in St. Louis talk radio. On July 19, he interviews Kevin Mincio on FM NewsTalk 97.1 – St. Louis.
Who: Service members, veterans and proud Americans
Where: Helen Fitzgerald’s Irish Grill & Pub, 3650 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO
When: July 21, 2011 from 6PM to close
What: An evening of drink specials, food, music and entertainment
Why: For the Families of the Fallen
Enjoy a fun-filled event with raffle, door prizes, 50/50, silent auction and more with all proceeds going to education and support for families of fallen soldiers brought to you by Helen Fitzgerald’s and D&D Marketing.
Vet honoring fallen comrade bikes here with partner to raise funds for military families.
By Erin Brown – The Hutchinson News
One veteran’s cycling journey across the country to raise funds for military families led him to Hutchinson Monday afternoon.
Kevin Mincio, drenched in sweat from biking several miles in intense heat, stood by a fire truck outside Harley’s Bike Shop, 629 N. Main St., on Monday, posing for pictures beneath an emblem on the truck that read, “Honoring America’s Bravest, 9-11-01.” Honoring the lives lost that day, and all the men and women serving in the military, is exactly what Mincio was doing in Hutchinson.
Jim Misunas, area reporter for the Great Bend Tribune, covers The Ride as the path runs through Kansas.
Kevin Mincio’s incredible journey started with 9-11.
He worked a few blocks away from the World Trade Center as a vice president at Goldman Sachs in Manhattan when everyone’s world changed forever on Sept 9, 2001.
“9-11 changed me forever – and it changed me for the better,” he said. Mincio’s time after the disaster was invested in restoring his company’s computer systems. But he could never get the image of nearby rescue workers and everyday people searching for answers. “What I experienced — the sights, the sounds, the smells, all of the emotion — ultimately, that’s what made me realize I had to enlist.”
Ten years later, Team Jesse Foundation co-founder Mincio will return to Ground Zero following a 4,200-mile cross country bicycle ride. They spent time in Larned Saturday and Sunday before heading east Monday morning.
U.S. Army veteran Mincio and Matt Sauri, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, are cycling across America to provide education and help for families of fallen soldiers and to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9-11. The 95-day, 4,200 mile journey began at the gravesite of SSG Jesse Williams in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Before SSG Jesse Williams was killed during combat operations in Iraq, he and Mincio served together as members of the 5-20 Infantry Regiment, which has the battalion motto of “Tant Que Je Puis,” that translates, “To The Limit of Our Abilities.”
Mincio and Sauri have chosen this as The Ride theme to motivate them in remembrance of those who gave it all for their country.
John Norton of the Pueblo Chieftan gives front page coverage of The Ride on Independence Day
Pair pedals into Pueblo on behalf of families of fallen soldiers.
Matt Sauri remembers the April day in 2007 when his friend Kevin Mincio came to his door and how the look on Mincio’s face told him something was very wrong.
Mincio had just received the devastating news that his close friend, Jesse Williams, had died in Iraq. Beyond the pain of that loss was Mincio’s pledge to Williams that he would take care of his friend’s infant daughter, Amaya.
That started him on another crusade to help the hundreds of other children who have suffered similar losses during America’s current wars.
Mincio had met Williams at Fort Lewis, Wash., and they served together during Mincio’s tour of duty in Iraq. It was during Williams’ second tour that he died from wounds suffered during fighting in Baqubah, Iraq.
Mincio saw to it that 4-year-old Amaya’s future is secure and now he, Sauri and others are working to aid the families of other fallen service members through their nonprofit Team Jesse.
Landon Helmsley at Utah Public Radio interviews Kevin Mincio and Matt Sauri.
Team Jesse Foundation is an organization dedicated to helping the families of fallen combat veterans. It is named for SSG Jesse Williams, a soldier who was killed during his second tour of duty in Iraq. Before departing for war, Williams asked a friend, Kevin Mincio, to look after his daughter should he not make it home. When he passed away, Kevin took his promise seriously, assisting Williams’s daughter, Amaya, and expanding to found the Team Jesse Foundation.
Landon Hemsley spoke with the pair [Kevin Mincio and Matt Sauri]. That conversation is this newsline. Its original air date was June 22, 2011.
J. James McTigue with The WATCH in Telluride, CO writes:
The events of September 11, 2001, affected different people in different ways. For former Goldman Sachs Vice President Kevin Mincio, it was the catalyst to leave Wall Street and enlist in the U.S. Army – a path that would lead him to establish a nonprofit foundation to benefit families of fallen soldiers. He is now biking 4,200 miles across the country to raise money for the same foundation.
Together with a friend, entrepreneur and philanthropist Matt Sauri, Mincio began the ride on June 9 in Santa Rosa, Calif. The two will ride into Telluride on Monday, June 27, rest on Tuesday, and then continue on their cross-country journey, which will end in Manhattan at Ground Zero on September 11, 2011. During the ride, they hope to raise $500,000 for The Team Jesse Foundation, which benefits families of fallen soldiers.
KRON 4 reporter, Chuck Clifford, interviews Kevin Mincio and Matt Sauri in Santa Rosa, CA on The Ride Day 1.
Puget Sound Business Journal’s Becky Monk covers Kevin Mincio and Matt Sauri’s ride across America. “The men will stop in communities along the way, meeting people, sharing their message, and trying to fulfill a goal of raising $500,000 for the education and support of families of soldiers who die in combat.”
Excerpt – Matt’s worried about whether he and partner Kevin Mincio can indeed raise the $500,000 they hope to be able to donate to Families of Fallen Soldiers — a cause they’re promoting to honor the late Staff Sgt. Jesse Williams, killed in Iraq, and to commemorate this year’s 10th anniversary of 9/11.
“There will be reckless drivers, overuse injuries, and some pretty high-speed descents,” he says of the journey, which begins June 9 at Williams’ grave site in Santa Rosa, Calif., and ends on Sept. 11 at Ground Zero in New York. The route slices through 12 states, and the two riders must conquer not only the Rockies but also the Sierra Nevadas and Appalachian Mountains, as well as deserts, bears, leg cramps, mosquitoes, and who knows what else.
“But what I fear the most is not getting enough attention to the cause,” says Sauri, 40, a Seattle father of three.
Santa Rosa Send-Off Event Flyer
In just 10 short days, Team Jesse will host The Ride Send-Off Fundraiser Dinner in Santa Rosa, California. We are proud and humbled by the support we have received from this community, Jesse’s hometown! At the event, we will honor several local Gold Star Moms, those who have lost a son or daughter defending our freedom.
The send-off event will be held at the Santa Rosa Memorial Hall on June 8 from 5PM to 8PM. This is a family friendly event with tickets available at the door. All profits will provide education and support for families of fallen soldiers in honor of Santa Rosa’s hero SSG Jesse Williams.