Great support, Ride to Silence the Stigma

Jamestown  (CSi)  The annual Ride to Silence the Stigma on Sunday had great community support.

Organizer, Beth Lautt reports that 186 participants took part this year with 92 registered bikes and 12 vehicles came along on the ride.Dave and Beth Lautt lost their son,  Thomas Avery Doyle, at the age of 22,to suicide in 2013.

Photos for CSiNewsNow.com by Matt Sheppard

The ride is held to raise funds to raise suicide awareness and prevention.

Monte Rodacker says the run will support the National Guard Foundation and ND CARES.

He adds, $3,000 will be sent to each of the two entities

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Registration is at 11 a.m., followed by a noon program and prayer.

A balloon release takes place at 12:20-p.m.

The ride starts at 12:30 p.m. Motorcycles and cars are invited to join at $20 per rider, and $20 for each additional rider.

Cars are welcome to follow.

Midnight Riders from Jud will assist in guiding the ride.

The ride leaves from Stutsman Harley Davidson in Jamestown and heads to Buchanan, then on to Wimbledon, then to Kensal and Pingree, Woodworth, Medina, and Windsor and then heading back to Jamestown.  Stops will be made at those locations, including restaurants.

On Friday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Monte Rodacker said, the run will support the National Guard Foundation and ND CARES.

The Ride to Silence the Stigma event was founded by Dave and Beth Lautt after losing their son, Thomas Avery Doyle, to suicide at the age of 22, in 2013.

Doyle was a Jamestown High School graduate who served in the North Dakota National Guard including a tour in Kuwait.

The national suicide rate for suicide among U.S. servicemen is nearly double that of the mainstream population, according to a 2015 study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The North Dakota veteran suicide rate for men is roughly equivalent to the national rate, and while the women veteran rate is lower it still exceeds the mainstream rate, according to the VA.

Monte thanked the community for its continued support for the road, including businesses and individuals, to raise funds and donations of door prizes, to support the mission to silence the stigma concerning suicide, and bringing awareness to support and education.