Snowmobilers Raise $505,000 to Fight ALS

By Greg Sorenson
In 1999, four avid snowmobilers, Greg Sorenson, Randy Bannor, Larry Bannor and Dennis Nelson, set out on an adventure that would take them around Lake Superior.

One warm June evening while slapping mosquitoes and planning the snowmobile ride of a lifetime, we decided that it would be worthy to raise money for a good cause. Because Randy was friends with the Kolquist family of Duluth, and one of the snowmobilers in the family, Kevin, suffered from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), we decided to raise money to help fight ALS.

Once the word got out, ALS Minnesota got involved and helped. The first year, four of us traveled 2,025 miles in 10 days and raised $15,000. Ironically, just five days before we departed, my father, Walt Sorenson, broke the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with ALS. The ride took on a whole new meaning for me.

Because there was a lot of interest in the ride, we decided to do a shorter ride, and the Black Woods Blizzard Tour was born. We were fortunate to secure two great major sponsors — Black Woods and Polaris. With that, we planned a 380-mile, three-day ride. The ride starts in Proctor and goes to Tower, Two Harbors and back to Proctor.

In 2000, we raised $56,300. This year, we completed the ninth annual ride and raised an impressive $505,000. There were 136 riders from six states and some great sponsors on the three-day snowmobile ride across the icy trails of Northeastern Minnesota. The total money raised in the nine years of this event is $1.5 million.

This year's top fundraiser is Dave Telschow, of Savage, who raised $75,460. The second top fundraiser is Jane Evans, of Roseau, who raised $33,377. John Malinosky, of Enfield, Connecticut, raised $25,021. It’s amazing what snowmobilers can do when they get motivated.

Terry Steinbach, former Minnesota Twins catcher, served as the celebrity host of the event for the ninth year. This year, he was given the Wes Blakeslee Most Valuable Rider Award for his years of service to the ALS Association, Minnesota Chapter and the Black Woods Blizzard Tour. Blakeslee, a young Polaris engineer who was diagnosed with ALS in 1998, was a huge part of this ride. He lost his battle against ALS in September 2003. Joining Steinbach on the ride again this year were Minnesota Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire; Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson; Twins batting coach Joe Vavra; former Minnesota Twins great Kent Hrbek; and former NHL hockey player Darby Hendrickson.

I wish to offer a huge thank you to the snowmobilers and MnUSA members that have generously donated on my behalf to this event. Also, thanks go to the dedicated club volunteers that adjusted their grooming schedules so we had smooth trails to ride on.

The money raised will help make the last few months of an ALS patient’s life as comfortable as can be and will allow them to communicate with their loved ones. Because of snowmobilers and the Blizzard Tour, ALS Minnesota is able to help many more patients than they ever have in the past.

The next ride is planned for February 5-7, 2009. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or would like to make a donation please, contact me. My address is under the Region 7 directors listing on page 9. Or go to www.mnsnowmobiler.org and look in the region directors listing.