A letter from the President: 'I'm asking you to run'
Dear National Press Club Members:
Today we opened registration for the third annual Run for Austin Virtual 5K. The virtual race will be held on Nov. 18 and can be completed anytime, anywhere that day, and at any speed.
I’m asking you to run.
I’m asking you to run for Austin Tice — the award-winning journalist, the seventh-generation Texan, the Marine veteran, the graduate of Georgetown University, and the beloved son, brother and colleague who had headed to Syria to cover the refugee crisis as it was unfolding. He was detained on Aug. 14, 2012, and has been away from his family for more than 11 years.
I’m asking you to run.
I’m asking you to run for Evan Gershkovich, who is the American son of Soviet-born Jewish exiles and a New Jersey native. He graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 2014. Before joining The Wall Street Journal last year, he was a reporter for Agence France-Presse and the Moscow Times, and was a news assistant at the New York Times. Evan was arrested on March 29 while on a reporting trip to Russia. Evan has been away from his family for almost 6 months.
I’m asking you to run.
I’m asking you to run so that we can show the U.S. government the strong support we have in our demands that it do more for these journalists.
I’m asking you to run so that we can show Syria and Russia that we demand they release these journalists now.
I’m asking you to run so that we can show Austin and Evan’s families they are not alone. Their sons, brothers, and uncles have not been forgotten and we will not stop until they are home.
I’m asking you to run or walk, to tell your friends you’re participating, to share on social media, and to tell a coworker they should also run. Please, sign up today.
Thank you,
Eileen O’Reilly
116th President of the National Press Club
P.S.: Sign up, even if you aren’t a runner or have plans that day. We have strength in numbers, and every registration is a signal that the National Press Club will not stop until Evan and Austin are home.