The third annual 9/11 LeRoy Homer 5K and 1-mile Walk will be held at the Evesham Township Memorial Sports Complex at 1040 Tuckerton Road on Sunday, Sept. 13. Race day packets will be distributed on that morning beginning at 7:30 a.m. with the race beginning at 9:11 a.m.
The LeRoy W. Homer Jr. Foundation awards flight scholarships to young adults who wish to pursue careers in aviation. All proceeds from the 5K will benefit the foundation’s aviation scholarship program to help create the next generation of pilots. What’s special about this year is that the foundation hit a milestone and awarded 40 scholarships to honor the 40 heroes of United Flight 93, which was the plane that was the first to fight against the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
“To see us come this far is pretty amazing,” said Jane Oswari, the foundation’s vice president.
The foundation was founded in 2002 in memory of LeRoy Homer, First Officer of United Airlines #93 when it crashed in Shanksville, PA, on 9/11. The mission of the foundation is to encourage and support young adults who wish to pursue careers as professional pilots and increase awareness of the field of aviation. The foundation awards flight scholarships to obtain private pilot certification. To date, with the 40 scholarships, the foundation has awarded more than half-a-million dollars of scholarships. One of this year’s scholarship honorees is from the Shanksville area, Oswari shared, marking the foundation’s milestone as more unique.
“That made it even more of a full circle moment,” Oswari said. “It’s a great program to help young adults get their start in their aviation career, so the fact that we can provide that opportunity to help young adults make that first step in aviation is something special.”
The race will begin near the Blue Barn recreation center inside the complex. It will continue through the complex and move onto New Road and eventually work its way back to the Blue Barn again. It is a circular route with the start and end in the same location. The race will also feature a virtual 5K and 1-mile walk. Virtual runners can run anytime from now until Sunday, Sept. 20, at 11:59 p.m. For more information or to sign up for the event, visit the Events tab at www.leroywhomerjr.org.
“LeRoy was soft spoken but very kind and generous,” Oswari said. “Our organization is a little bit different from other organizations in the sense that we don’t just hand the recipients a check, we work with them (and) we partner with a flight school in their local area to ensure that their training is up to par. Our goal is to make sure that they succeed and even after they’re done, we stay connected to them and we watch them grow in their aviation career. It’s been really an amazing thing to be a part of.”
Homer was the First Officer of United Airlines Flight 93 when it crashed in Shanksville, PA, on 9/11.
The third annual 9/11 LeRoy Homer 5K and 1-mile Walk will benefit the LeRoy W. Homer Jr. Foundation’s aviation scholarship program to help create the next generation of pilots.
