Memorial ride to raise funds for military family support
Hunter Alexander Frank, who grew up in Owatonna, died in 2020 while serving with the U.S. Navy in El Salvador. A memorial motorcycle ride held Sept. 16 will raise funds for Wounded Warrior Family Support. Contributed photo
A year after his younger brother Hunter died while serving in the military, Brandon Flores wanted to do something in his memory.
What started as an impromptu motorcycle ride has grown by leaps and bounds. This year, the third annual Hunter Alexander Frank Memorial Ride will include a cornhole tournament, live music, food trucks, and a silent auction.
The first ride in 2021 was just that: a 20-mile route that started at a Kwik Trip in Waseca. In a Facebook post, Flores wrote:
“I am not expecting anyone to come along… I’m just putting this out there for anyone that would like to show support and join me in honoring my brother’s memory.”
The turnout, he said, was amazing. More importantly, the ride “helped heal my wound. I really liked the feeling it gave me and the healing of my heart.”
Though eight years separated them in age, Brandon said he and Hunter had grown closer in the three years before Hunter died.
“He was really a good guy. If anybody needed help, no matter how you were, that dude would drop everything,” Brandon said. “He cared so much for everyone, and everybody knew he was a caretaker. He loved new experiences and learning. He was very, very stubborn as well.”
That included Hunter’s decision to enlist in the U.S. Navy. He entered the service in 2018 and died on Oct. 17, 2020, while serving in El Salvador.
The pain of his loss, Flores said, “kinda comes and goes.” The greatest comfort for his family has been the decision to privately remember Hunter each year on the anniversary of his death. But organizing the ride has also helped.
Last year, Brandon and his wife, Maggi, doubled the size of the event and included a spaghetti dinner. They smashed through a $10,000 goal to raise $11,000 for Wounded Warrior Family Support. The charity works with families of those hurt physically or psychologically and those killed during combat operations.
“They really helped our family when we were going through the loss of Hunter,” Brandon said. “It helps ease the pain and makes me feel good to help other people who are experiencing that same pain.”
After 2022, the family decided to establish a formal 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which makes fundraising a little easier. There are also a lot more hands this year to work on an even larger event, and the Sept. 16 ride has moved from the Waseca American Legion Post 228 to the Steele County fairgrounds Beer Garden.
There will also be a car and motorcycle show on the grounds, a cornhole tournament with cash prizes in the afternoon, a silent auction, and local band Northern Distortion playing hits from the 1980s-1990s during the evening.
Flores has also connected with organizers of the Rustic Mamas Market, which will be open in the Four Seasons Centre on the fairgrounds the day of the ride.
“When you’re having two large events together, you have to coordinate,” he said. “They have food trucks, we have food trucks, so we’re putting them together and we’ll have parking for people with both events.”
Tickets and more information about the event are available at givebutter.com/HAF2023. You can also follow the Hunter Alexander Frank Foundation on Facebook.