A Ride for Remembrance 2002
JMU graduate honors sister and other Sept. 11 victims and volunteers

A bike ride to honor the victims, as well as the volunteers, of the Sept. 11 attacks took place June 17-22, from Richmond to New York City, with a stop at the PentagonÕs memorial site.

Aaron Basmajian (Õ02) and his brother, Alden rode to honor their sister-in-law, Alysia, who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Alysia was married to the duoÕs eldest brother, Anthony, on June 24, 2000, after they both graduated from William and Mary College.

Alysia was an accountant for Cantor Fitzgerald and worked on the 101st floor of the North World Trade Center Tower. She died nine days after her daughter, Kaela Grace, turned 2.

The Basmajian brothers named their bike tour, "A Ride for Remembrance." And the tribute served many purposes including, helping to raise funds for a scholarship fund in AlysiaÕs memory at William and Mary, recognizing volunteers, and thanking family and friends for their support. "The ride signifies our way of saying thank you to those servicemen and to every individual who came to support a victim of Sept. 11," says Aaron. "We want to also thank those close families and friends who came to our support during these last 8 months."

The ride was approximately 600 miles and the brothers averaged about 80 miles a day. Trip Young, a close family friend who graduated high school with Anthony, also participated in the ride. The original plan was to finish on June 24th, Anthony and AlysiaÕs wedding anniversary. "The last day we decided to go all out and finish everything up to arrive at Newark early," says Aaron. "This would leave us some relaxing time with Anthony."

The three determined riders biked 105 miles on the June 22 and finished early. They took the next day off to relax with Anthony and on the 24th, they had a formal finish at Ground Zero. "We placed two of AlysiaÕs pictures on the memorial wall and then presented Anthony with a certificate after we returned to his house," says Aaron. Anthony did not go to Ground Zero for the formal finish. Aaron explains, "he did not want to enter into the city that day."

The participantsÕ goal, to collect $10,000 in donations for the Alysia Basmajian Memorial Fund at William and Mary, was surpassed. The brothers raised approximately $20,000. The ride was part of a larger goal to raise $100,000 for two scholarships at William and Mary Ñ the college requires a minimum of $50,000 to establish a single scholarship.

Aaron was very proud of what his group accomplished. "According to William and Mary, it takes five years for the average person to establish a fund, and we did it in six months. It feels good to know that we did so well."

Aaron came up with the idea for the ride the Friday after the attacks. "It started out as my idea to ride from Harrisonburg to Richmond," he says. "But then I thought about going from Harrisonburg to Williamsburg, where Alysia and Anthony graduated."

Eventually, after talking with some friends about the idea, Aaron decided to go all the way to New York and "do it right." However, Aaron said he did not want to make it too much of a large-scale event because it was personal to the family and in-laws.

"I felt that since the ride had a specific family purpose and not a purpose to raise money for a Sept. 11 fund as a whole, I should maintain just a family aspect over the entire event," Aaron says.

Aaron did, however, manage to involve many businesses and sponsorships. He made a sponsorship agreement with Blue Ridge Cycleworks, in combination with Cannondale, and was provided a bicycle. Other charity rides have used CannondaleÕs bicycle, as well. The bike is designed with an American flag on it. The brothers other sponsors included KinkoÕs Copies, the Mark-It, the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record, WHSV TV Channel 3, The Breeze, Ukrops Grocery Store, WWBT 12, WTVR 6, WRIC 8, WRLH Fox 35, the Richmond Times Dispatch, the Williamsburg Daily Record, WRVA AM 1140Õs Alan Price Show, and A&E.

As far as donations, contributors could give however much they wanted Ñ donations were not on a "per mile" basis. The brothers are still accepting donations for the scholarship fund. The scholarship will be awarded annually to an art major or minor in need of financial assistance. Although Alysia was an accounting major at William and Mary, Aaron says her first love was art.

In the past seven months, the BasmajianÕs have raised $70,000 of the $100,000 ultimate goal.

"We have more than surpassed all expectations from William and Mary and Anthony," says Aaron. Although they have no immediate plans as far as raising the other $30,000, Aaron says he has been talking to a musician about a possible benefit concert.

For more information on Aaron BasmajianÕs Ride for Remembrance, check out his Web site at www.rideforremembrance.org.

Story by Janelle DiOrio 'Õ03)
Montpelier, editorial assistant

If you would like to contribute, please make checks payable to: The Endowment Association of the College of William and Mary [in the memo of your check, write Alysia Burton Basmajian Scholarship Fund, in order for the money to go to AlysiaÕs fund and not the general endowment]. Send donations to: Aaron Basmajian, 1073 B Lois Lane, Harrisonburg, VA 22801. Check the Web site for updated information and other possible fundraisers at www.rideforremembrance.org.