Sgt. Glen Martinez Memorial 5K, veterans golf tourney enters 10th year

Sgt. Glen Martinez

MONTE VISTA—The 10th annual 5K Run/Walk and Veterans Golf Tournament will be held at the Monte Vista Golf Course on Saturday, May 25 (5K) and Sunday, May 26 (golf tourney).
All proceeds benefit the Sgt. Glen E. Martinez Memorial Scholarship Fund, in which $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to a senior boy and senior girl of Monte Vista High School.
Glen was a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps when he and three other Marines were killed in action May 2, 2008 while on a combat mission. The Humvee they were riding in hit a roadside bomb in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq.
The 5K run/walk will begin on Saturday, May 25 at 7 a.m. at the Monte Vista Golf Course which will include: breakfast, t-shirt and ribbons (eight different age groups.)  Cost is $20 pre-registration or $25 on event day. Deadline for mail-in registration to P.O. Box 181 , Monte Vista, CO 81144, is  MAY 23, 2019 or register online at www.glenmartinezmemorialscholarship.org.  To register or for more information, call Ron or Carol at 850-3758 or 849-1830.
The veterans golf tournament will begin at 10 a.m., shotgun start at the Monte Vista Golf Course on Sunday, May 26. It will be a 4-man team scramble, 18 holes and will cost $160 per team. The tournament is limited to 18 teams. Cost is $40 for singles; they will be grouped up.  
Cost includes: golf cart (limited to 15 carts, team entry fee, tee prize, complementary range ball, and a gift certificate (for all four winners ) then lunch after golf. To sign up or for more information, call  Ingrid or Mark at the Monte Vista Pro-shop, 852-4906.
Glen knew the value of education and the value of physical fitness. Growing up in Monte Vista, he participated in nearly every sport available including football, wrestling and baseball. He played in the band and was an excellent student. He was quarterback for the Pirate football team for three years and competed four years on the state wrestling team and played baseball all four years. Glen chose to play baseball for Ottawa Univ. in Ottawa, Kan. on an academic and baseball scholarship where he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in mathematics.
Glen subsequently earned a surveying degree from Westwood College and was going to work on his Masters Degree in Hydro-Engineering at Boulder, CU when he made his decision to join the Marine Corps. Living in Boulder, he explained, “he got tired of hearing people cutting down his country,” so he decided to do something positive. Glen could have gone directly into officer candidate school, but chose to start at the bottom like all the other recruits. Should he go on to command, Glen said, he wanted to have hands-on experience rather than classroom philosophy. “I want those I command to know that I have been where they are,” he said in an interview just after basic training. Glen was ready for whatever came. After a childhood filled with the challenge of athletic competition, staying in peak physical shape was second nature to him and he strongly supported the discipline and leadership skills learned on the mat, football field, baseball diamond and the school room.
Please come and join in and have some fun and maybe talk to someone who knew Glen!