The 14th annual Sgt. Glen Martinez 5K Run/Walk and Veterans Golf Tournament will be held at the Monte Vista Golf Course on Saturday, May 24. 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.  If the students complete the first semester and will be continuing their higher education, they can be awarded an additional $500 for the spring semester. 

The 5K run/walk will begin on Saturday, May 24, at 7 a.m. at the Monte Vista Golf Course and will include: breakfast, t-shirt and ribbons (eight different age groups).  The cost is $20 pre-registration or $25 on event day. Deadline for mail-in registration and online registration is May 21.  Please register online at https://form.jotform.com/251176073362151. For more information, call Lori Vigil at 719-850-2533 or Lexi Settle at 719-850-2509. 

Veterans golf tournament will begin on Saturday, May 24, at 10 a.m., shotgun start at the Monte Vista Golf Course. It will be a 4-man team scramble, 18 holes and will cost $240 per team. The tournament is limited to 18 teams. Cost is $60 for singles; they will be grouped up. Cost includes team entry fee, lunch after the golf tournament provided by the Martinez family, and cash prizes for first and second place teams. Golf carts will be available to rent from the golf course.  To sign up register online at https://form.jotform.com/251264581874161. For more information, call Vigil at 719-850-2533 or Settle at 719- 850-2509. 

Glen was a Sgt. in the United States Marine Corps when he and three other Marines were killed in action on 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. 

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 University 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.