We are excited to have our 10th Annual Memorial Day March For Them on May 26th right here in Hastings. This event was started back in 2016 to provide Veterans a way to honor our fallen comrades. Another purpose is to remind the public who the holiday is for, why many of us have the day off. Along the route we have Honor Markers with the names and pictures of our fallen comrades. It started with a 28-mile route from Red Wing to Hastings. But for some reason that was a tough sell. :)

So, in 2023 we decided to change gears to a shorter route and picked the scenic 10-mile loop in Hastings. We tripled our Marchers that year and saw many younger faces join us too. We start and end at the perfect spot, the Rotary Pavilion on the Mississippi River. This year we will start at 10:00 a.m. and expect to finish around 2:00 p.m. Sign up begins at 9:00 a.m. Participants can expect a great t-shirt, great snacks and beverages, along with a great time. We will have a meal for Marchers, Volunteers and Families after the program at The Studio thanks to the generous Wendi Shilts-Johnson.

You don’t have to be a Veteran to walk, and you don’t have to be an adult either! Kids and families are very welcome to join us. Cost is $35 for anyone 11 or older. Just $10 for kids 10 and younger. Veterans are always free thanks to our sponsors. We will host another free Veterans Dinner for participants and a guest the night prior to the March. This will again be at the Hastings Public House thanks to the generous Nicole Sindelar.

Something new! We have keynote speaker Drew Carpenter with the Wounded Warrior Project. Drew is an Army Veteran who served two tours in Iraq. He will share his compelling story along with honoring fallen comrades he served with.

We are also honored to have the talented HMS Spiral Singers return to sing the National Anthem plus another great song for the audience. Thank you to those kids and their director Cheryl Borgen for all her effort in making that happen!

We are always in need of donations and sponsors. Anyone interested in registering, donating or sponsoring can do so at www.MarchForThem.org