Annual Motorcycle, Car Ride For PFC Aaron Toppen Set For Sunday

MOKENA, IL — The seventh annual Motorcycle and Car Run in memory of Mokena resident Aaron Toppen is scheduled to take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Manteno Sportsman’s Club, 851 N. Main St. in Manteno.

Aaron Toppen was killed in while serving overseas in the Army in Afghanistan in 2014.

Riders are scheduled to depart from Manteno Sportsman’s Club at 10 a.m. They will head to Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and then head back to Manteno for lunch, beverages, live entertainment, raffles and a ceremony beginning at noon.

This year riders will also go past the Manteno Veterans' Home to pay their respects to the residents there, said Pam Toppen, mother of Aaron Toppen and founder of the Our Fallen Hero Foundation.

The Motorcycle and Car Run asks for donations of $25 per driver and $10 per passenger to participate in the ride and the afterparty. Those who want to attend the lunch and activities but not participate in the ride can do so for $10.

All proceeds from the event go toward Our Fallen Hero Foundation, which will make donations to United Service Organizations, or USO, and the Manteno Veterans' Home, Pam Toppen said. The USO is a non-profit organization that provides live entertainment — such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs — to members of the United States Armed Forces and their families.

"To the family, it means the world to have the support and see everybody," Pam toppen said. "To the foundation, in the past seven years we've been able to raise almost a half-million dollars to pay it forward to keep Aaron's legacy, and those of his brother and sister, alive."

Live entertainment scheduled for the event include performances by Da Good Time Band and a memorial ceremony by the Band Of Brothers Bag Pipers to remember fallen soldiers.

Raffles include gift baskets, a 50/50 Split the Pot and a chance to win several cash prizes.

For more information, visit the Our Fallen Hero Foundation in Memory of PFC Aaron Toppen website, follow the Foundation's Facebook page or reach out via email at ourfallenherofoundation@gmail.com.