Sultan High School students carried out their tradition of honoring veterans last week.
On Friday, Nov. 7, they participated in the second annual "Freedom Run,GÇ¥ during which students kept an American flag moving around the Sultan High School track the entire school day.
Both this year and last they were joined by Sgt. First Class Dave Sivewright, who has achieved local fame and for running along U.S. 2 with an American flag. Sivewright has become known as the Highway 2 Freedom Runner.
Last year, the students accomplished over 26 miles on the Freedom Run. This year, they achieved over 14 miles, despite the fact that they had an early release. Students kept the flag moving around the track from the time school started in the morning up until shortly after noon.
Approximately 200 students are enrolled in physical education classes at Sultan High School, and all of them were given the opportunity to participate.
"All the P.E. kids will be involved in some way,GÇ¥ said P.E. Instructor Ben Murphy on Friday at the track. "I asked for volunteers to carry the flag, and if they're not carrying a flag they're in a support group that runs with the flag carrier. So, most of our 200 kids will take at least one lap around with the flag.GÇ¥
Some students even ran straight through their lunch break.
"This is a great way of getting 200 kids involved instead of just a few,GÇ¥ added Sultan High School Principal Tami Nesting.
Sivewright joined them for the last seven miles, running continuously with his flag, "Old Glory,GÇ¥ as students took turns carrying two additional flags.
He was accompanied by his fianc+¬e, Christina Nelson, who passed out American flag stickers to all the students who participated, and cheered them on as they ran.
The two have been busily preparing for Sultan's annual Veterans Day Celebration, which will be held at the All Veterans Memorial Wall in Sultan at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
Nelson is responsible for spearheading the "American Flag ProjectGÇ¥ which will line Main Street in Sultan with American flags during national holidays and other special events. Nelson and Sivewright look forward to the first phase of the project being completed by Tuesday's celebration.
While he was at the high school on Friday, Sivewright was asked, as he so often is, why he decided to start running with the American flag.
He answered, as he always does; "Pride, duty, honor.GÇ¥
Sivewright, who has close to 18 years in the military, started running in 2009 as a way to get in shape. He liked the challenge associated with running, which was not one of his favorite activities. Around that same time, Sivewright noticed something that struck him GÇô people were so negatively impacted by the challenging economic conditions, it seemed as though they were losing hope.
He decided he wanted to do something about that. He began to run with an American flag to see if he could lift people's spirits and generate some goodwill. As he puts it, he just wanted to "spread some pride.GÇ¥
He began running with the flag in February of 2010, and has been going even since, except while serving on deployment in Kuwait. Since moving to Sultan last year he has become immersed in the Sky Valley community, inspiring citizens young and old.
Damar Aerosystems in Monroe is having a "Freedom RunGÇ¥ on Tuesday, Nov. 11, which will traverse Monroe from Al Borlin Park to their facility near Valley General Hospital. Damar, who invited Sivewright to speak at their Veterans Day Celebration last year, shared that they were inspired by his flag running when they planning the event.
Young Tyee Eliason from Gold Bar was so impressed with Sivewright that he has also taken up running with an American flag. Just 8 years old, Eliason has recently begun a campaign to raise money for the local food bank and the Boys and Girls Club. He has pledged to run 90 miles with his flag and is trying to garner donations from the community.
To learn more about Sivewright, and to see pictures of him while running through the Sky Valley, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/HWY-2-Freedom-Runner/665996226746058. For more information about Tyee Eliason, please visit his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004143736044.
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