Wertz Warriors to Embark 900-MILE SNOWMOBILE ENDURANCE Ride

The Wertz Warriors are slated to embark on the 26th Annual Snowmobile Endurance Ride Jan. 28 to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics Michigan.  The 900-mile, six-day journey will begins in Chesterfield, Mich., and zigzags across the Lower Peninsula, ending Feb. 4 in Petoskey, Mich.

The 2007 Wertz Warriors consists of more than 40 snowmobile riders and 28 support crew members. They will stop at over 35 locations along the ride route, raising donations along the way for the SOMI State Winter Games. Since the first ride in 1982 the warriors have traveled a combined 937,000 miles on their snowmobiles and have raised more than $6.8 million.

“Each rider must donate $3,500 for the privilege of participating on the ride,” said Vic Battani, Chairman of the Wertz Warriors Board of Directors. “They must also use their own snowmobile and pay for any equipment they require in order to ride.”

The Wertz Warriors come from all walks of life, and whether as a rider or as a member of the support crew, all work toward raising money for Special Olympics Michigan.

“Each Wertz Warrior takes a week out of their lives to participate in the endurance ride,” Battani says. “They are all dedicated to this cause and raise money all year long. They are a tremendously dedicated and caring group of people.”

SOMI will host more than 900 athletes at the 2007 State Winter Games to be held at the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme, Schuss Village in Bellaire, and Howe Ice Arena in Traverse City. The Wertz Warriors will take part in the State Winter Games by giving the athletes snowmobile rides and by attending opening ceremonies Jan. 31.

The Wertz Warriors is one man's dream transformed into reality. Vic Wertz, former Detroit Tiger and Hall of Fame’r, had a dream to underwrite the direct costs of the Special Olympics Michigan State Winter Games. So, he set out and succeeded to enlist many of his friends to help him.

Together, Wertz and his newly founded warriors considered a variety of ways to generate the money needed to fund winter sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Michigan. After considering many alternatives, the Wertz Warriors contacted SOMI and completed their first snowmobile endurance ride in February 1982, raising $26,000. Twenty-six years later they are still riding strong and hope to raise $500,000 this year.

Please see the attached itinerary for the Wertz Warriors 26th Annual Snowmobile Endurance Ride. For more information about the Wertz Warriors, visit www.somi.org/wertzwarriors or call Vic Battani at
(586) 291-9100. Donations can be made to Special Olympics Michigan, PO Box 1132, Mt. Clemens, MI  48046.

Posted: 2007-01-18