Berthoud Weekly Surveyor | Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot

Gabe’s Gauntlet returns in 2022

By: Brendan Henry | The Surveyor | September 08, 2022 | Local News

The Berthoud VFW Post 12189 will hold Gabe’s Gauntlet in Waggener Park on September 11 at 9:11 am. This will be the second gauntlet held to honor the memory of Army Specialist Gabriel D. Conde who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2018.

Conde was a Berthoud High School graduate that participated in track, Honor Band, and graduated with a BHS Honors diploma. He would then go on to enlist in the Army in 2015 and would receive the Purple Heart, a National Defense Service Medal, an Army Service Ribbon and Parachutist Badge according to the VA website. Conde was assigned to Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, where he assisted in combating Taliban forces.

Fitness was a big part of Conde’s life both in high school and throughout his military service. This is where the focus of Gabe’s Gauntlet originates – others participating in the exercises Conde himself enjoyed doing.

Exercises include climbing a rock wall, axe throwing, pushups, sit-ups and lunges with weights. Participants are encouraged to sprint to each station, but as Sarah Garman, president of Berthoud’s VFW Auxiliary said, they do not have to.

Anyone can register online at https://www.berthoudvfw.com/gabe-s-gauntlet. According to Garman, registration is $10 or $30 for an included T-shirt. Registration is also available the day of the event at the $10 rate without the T-shirt.

All money raised will be used for a scholarship that will go to a Berthoud High School student or multiple students depending on how much money the VFW can raise from the event and other donations. The Conde family and the VFW are still working on a name for the scholarship.

Garman said there has been enough money raised over the past year that the scholarship is intended to be given out in February or March of next year. The scholarship will likely include essay submissions from interested Berthoud High School students with the Conde family and members of the VFW and Auxiliary selecting an applicant.

People can reach out to the Berthoud VFW Auxiliary at https://www.berthoudvfwaux.com/contact-us/ for more information on Gabe’s Gauntlet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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