MANALAPAN — The second annual Walk With Joe is ready to go on Saturday. In a press release issued last week, event organizer Betty Ann O’Malley said, "Momentum is building toward another successful 5K walk."
The Walk With Joe is sponsored by the Yorktowne Club, a benevolent organization in Manalapan. The event honors Patrick Joseph Driscoll.
Driscoll, 70, was a 33-year resident of Manalapan who was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001.
The plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers resisted a hijack attempt by terrorists. Everyone aboard the plane died.
Saturday’s event at Battlefield State Park, Route 33, will start with registration at 8 a.m. The walk will begin at 10 a.m. Opening ceremonies will follow registration. Walk With Joe committee chairman Mike Sullivan will welcome participants with reminiscences of his friend.
The Rev. John Bambrick of St. Thomas More Church, Manalapan, will deliver an invocation that will be followed by Driscoll’s daughter, Pam Driscoll Gould, leading everyone in a salute to the flag. Musician Lee Deedmeyer of the local band Mission Dance will lead everyone in singing "God Bless America."
New Jersey State Police bagpiper Dennis Donovan will then lead everyone to the starting line for the 5K walk.
The press release quotes Sullivan saying, "The committee is looking forward to seeing families, friends, neighbors, all those who want to honor this good friend and fellow citizen who along with the passengers and crew members paid an enormous price on that fateful flight. We must never forget that day and all those people on the planes and in the (World Trade Center) towers. This is a way to bring us all together to honor them and hopefully give comfort to their families."
The entry fee is $10 and proceeds will go to the Samaritan Center, Englishtown, and the Friends of Monmouth Battle-field, Manalapan. Those who preregister are guaranteed a T-shirt.
Registration forms are available at the Gordons Corner Deli, Route 9 north, Manalapan; the Old Silver Tavern, Route 522, Manalapan; and the Samaritan Center, Harrison Avenue, Englishtown. Preregistration can also be done at www.WalkWithJoe. For additional information call the Yorktowne Club at (732) 446-9870; Jack McKenna, (732) 462-7884; Mike Sullivan, (732) 263-9519; or Betty Anne O’Malley, (732) 446-4659.