The 25th Annual Steve Levy Ride to Remember, an event hosted by the Gloucester County Hero Scholarship Fund, Inc., was held on October 18. The event honors emergency personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
The ride initially was established to remember Corporal Steve Levy, who served for the Washington Township Police Department (WTPD) and Gloucester County SWAT until he was killed in the line of duty on October 21, 1999. About 400 motorcyclists took off at Washington Township High School on the brisk Sunday morning, and they completed a 63-mile ride through Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland counties, in honor of Levy’s badge number, 63. The ride wrapped at Washington Lake Park.
In addition to honoring Levy, every year, the ride selects another local individual who lost their life in the line of duty to dedicate the ride to. This year’s ride was dedicated to Malaga Firefighter Robert “Bobby” Reider, III, who lost his life in the line of duty this summer.
Motorcyclists rode 63 miles during the Ride to Remember, in honor of Levy’s badge number.
The Gloucester County Hero Scholarship Fund has been hosting the ride as one of its largest fundraising initiatives since 2007, when the organizers took it over from the folks from WTPD who initially put on the race as a fundraiser for Levy’s wife and young kids. (The inaugural race had more than 1,000 motocyclists). The event also had about 20 sponsors, allowing the Fund to put nearly 100% of the fundraising directly towards its organization, which supports local public safety individuals and their families after a line of death or injury.
“I just thought it would be a great opportunity for our organization to keep the ride alive, keep Steve’s memory alive, keep the event going,” said paramedic Michael McEnery, who is the president of the Gloucester County Hero Scholarship Fund.
“Steve was a great guy. He was very well respected by his peers. He was always out there challenging himself, challenging others to constantly learn and to do better,” he said.
A few days later on October 21, the anniversary of Levy’s death, the township held its annual memorial service at 7 a.m. while the sun was rising. The ceremony was held at the Steve Levy Memorial in Washington Lake Park, and members of WTPD, local emergency response personnel and local officials spoke to the community who came out to honor and mourn the 27th anniversary of Levy’s passing.
For more information on the Gloucester County Hero Scholarship Fund, go to www.gchero.org.
Hundreds of motorcyclists participated in the 25th Annual Steve Levy Ride to Remember to honor the WTPD officer who lost his life in the line of duty in 1999.
