Public invited to join ‘Aspen’s Reason to Ride’

By Valorie Brecht On March 11, 2024, Aspen Schultze of Greenwood died by suicide at the age of 12. In memory of Aspen, her family and friends are hosting an ATV poker run to raise money for suicide prevention, including providing guest speakers for schools and veterans’ groups, and to help parents with costs should they experience the unexpected death of a child.

The “Aspen’s Reason to Ride” fundraiser event will take place on June 28 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at AKA Lakeside at Rock Dam Lake. The address is N8560 N. Hay Creek Road #8901, Willard. The event will include a poker run, chicken dinner, basket raffles, 50/50 raffles, and live music by The Lucky Whoreshoes from 7-10 p.m.

Kurt Huegel is helping to organize the event, along with his friend Scott Cullen. The two are friends of Aspen’s parents, Justin and Jami, and they’re all part of the Rock Dam Riders ATV club. The group consists of 10-11 couples who take their machines out riding during the summer. Aspen would frequently ride along.

“She loved to ride side-by-side. She loved classic country singers, like Hank Williams, and would play them when we went out riding. She got to know a lot of the adults in the group quite well,” said Huegel.

After Aspen passed, the ATV riders wanted to keep her memory alive. Last July, Aspen’s parents wanted to do a ride on her birthday. They traced the route they made on her birthday the year before. This year, they wanted to do a memorial ride again but had the idea of adding a fundraiser aspect to support suicide prevention. Huegel is familiar with two events held in Mercer every year for suicide prevention, including an ATV ride and a car show. He used those

Please see Aspen’s Reason to Ride, page 27

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as inspiration for planning this event.

“We decided to do an ATV poker run and chicken dinner. Plus we have the basket raffles and the band. It’s grown very quickly… The outpouring of donations has been amazing,” Huegel said.

Raffle prizes include portable bar, a Blackstone grill, a round of golf with a cart, coolers, wine baskets, various gift certificates to local restaurants, a cribbage board table, and more coming in as the event gets closer.

“It’s been a very wonderful show of support,” said Cullen.

The main component of the event is the poker run, which is going on now through the day of the event. It involves purchasing a card for $10. There are 10 participating local bars. One purchase at each bar equals one stamp. Cards must be initialed by the bartender. Five stamps gives a person the opportunity to draw a five-card poker hand. The best five-card hand wins. People may draw more than one poker hand; they would just need to purchase and complete another card. No cards may be purchased after 4 p.m. on June 28.

There is a 50% payout. The first-place winner will receive 50% of the prize money, the second-place winner will receive 30%, and the third-place winner will receive 20%. Winners will be drawn at 6 p.m. on June 28.

Participating bars include Shoe’s Place, AKA Lakeside, Vojtik’s Stockyard, Sportsmen’s Club, T & E Levis Lodge, Jamie’s Last Resort, Trail’s End, Wayside Inn, Behind Barr’s, and Off-Road Bar & Grill.

The half-chicken dinner will be available at Lakeside starting at 4 p.m. for $12 per dinner, until gone.

Between the poker run, raffles, dinner, and music, event organizers hope that everyone will be able to find some way to participate. They recognize that suicide is a difficult topic, but they hope to help break the stigma of talking about mental health and remind people that they’re not alone.

“Suicide has touched everybody. I don’t know anybody that doesn’t know someone who has committed suicide. In the last 10 years, I’ve had six people I know commit suicide. Since 2020 I’ve had four, with two of them being very close friends. And the more you start talking about it, the more you run into other people who have been affected — an uncle, a sibling, a friend,” said Huegel.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that 12% of young adults ages 18-25 report that they’ve had serious thoughts about suicide in the past year and that number is even higher for high school students, with 20% reporting serious thoughts about suicide (2023 data).

Members of Aspen’s Reason to Ride want to do whatever they can to reduce those numbers. They hope by providing guest speakers for schools and veterans’ groups, that they can impact even one life. They urge anyone struggling with mental health or suicidal thoughts to reach out to someone and not face their battles alone.

“If you’re struggling, that’s normal. But please find someone to talk to, whether it’s a parent, or if not a parent, then a teacher. Or if not a teacher, then a friend,” said Huegel.

“You’re not alone. The 988 lifeline is there to call, or you can call a friend, a neighbor, somebody if you need to talk,” said Cullen. “You matter. Your life matters.”

The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by texting or calling 988 or visiting 988lifeline.org at any time of day.

ATV riders wishing to join the Aspen’s Reason to Ride ATV riders for a memorial ride in honor of Aspen may meet at Shoe’s Place Bar and Grill in Willard at 10:30 a.m. the day of the event.

Donations are still being accepted. Contact Sherri Gregorich at aspensmemorialfund@gmail.com or 715-937-4774 for questions or to arrange a donation.