In 1999, Greg Sorenson, Randy Bannor, Larry Bannor and Dennis Nelson decided to start a snowmobile ride to raise money for a good cause. Randy had a friend, Kevin Kolquist, who suffered from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), so the group decided to raise money to help fight ALS.
Once the word was out, ALS Minnesota got involved to help out. The first year, the group of four traveled 2,025 miles in 10 days, raising $15,000. Five days before, Greg's father, Walt Sorenson, had been diagnosed with ALS, so the ride took on a whole new meaning for Greg.
The group decided to do a shorter ride as there was a lot of interest building, so the Black Woods Blizzard Tour was born. Two major sponsors were involved, Black Woods and Polaris. With that, a 380-mile, 3-day ride was planned. The ride starts in Proctor and goes to Tower, Two Harbors and back to Proctor.
In 2000, $56,300 was raised. This year was the ninth annual ride, and an impressive $505,000 was raised by 136 riders from 6 states and some great sponsors on the 3-day snowmobile ride across the icy trails of northeastern Minnesota. In the 9 years this event has been running, $1.5 million has been raised for ALS. "It's amazing what snowmobilers can do when they get motivated," says Greg Sorenson.
Terry Steinbach, former Minnesota Twins catcher, served as the celebrity host of the event for the ninth year. Joining Steinbach on the ride again this year were Minnesota Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire; Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson; Twins batting coach Joe Vavra; former Minnesota Twins great Kent Hrbek; and former NHL hockey player Darby Hendrickson.
The money raised will help make the last few months of an ALS patient's life as comfortable as can be and will allow them to communicate with their loved ones. Because of snowmobilers and the Blizzard Tour, ALS Minnesota is able to help many more patients than they ever have in the past.
The next ride is planned for February 5-7, 2009. For more info, or to donate, contact Greg Sorenson at
minnsnoman@aol.com or visit
www.mnsnowmobiler.org.