Annual motorcycle run raising awareness for veteran suicide
The Team Timmy Motorcycle Ride for Life is taking place next month.
Tim Neild was a Captain in the Army, a bronze star recipient, and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan.
Following his deployment, he was in a serious car crash in Upstate New York that worsened the post-traumatic stress disorder that he had gotten from the war.
Neild committed suicide in October 2017.
Since then, his father, Rick, has held the motorcycle run to raise money for a scholarship fund for graduates of Candor High School, where Tim went, and neighboring Spencer-Van Etten.
Rick says the run serves as a potent reminder of the importance of addressing and de-stigmatizing veteran mental health.
'TBIs, traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, they're very real and they need to be discussed. One of the things that has been my mission since we started this was to make the V.A. more aware that, in Tim's case, you're almost shunned if you said you had an issue. Things are improving, slowly, but we're getting there,' said Rick.
The run takes place on Saturday, June 7, and will conclude at Turkey Trot Acres in Candor for an all-you-can-eat buffet reception featuring an open mic.
The Team Timmy Ride for Life starts at 11 a.m. at Tim's gravesite, located behind the Candor Town Hall.
After a brief memorial ceremony, the bikes will leave at 11:30 for a 125-mile trip that includes brief stops in Whitney Point and Owego.
The reception at Turkey Trot runs from 2 until 6.
The cost for the run and party is $40, $10 if you only want to go for the ride.
Tickets must be purchased by this Saturday by calling (607)659-7849 or emailing TurkeyTrot@FrontierNet.net.
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