Snowmobile ride to raise funds in honor of Wyatt Coy

COVID-19 may have changed the format, but the second snowmobile ride in memory of Wyatt Coy will go on.
The ride, this year named “Ride for Wyatt ‘Rona Style” is scheduled to depart from Mantorville’s Riverside Park on Sunday, Jan. 31. Registration and check-in is at 10 a.m. The ride, which supports the Wyatt M. Coy Memorial Scholarship Fund, has this year joined forces with the Byron Snow Bears, said Matthew Coy, Wyatt’s father. Because of that partnership the money raised will be divided between the scholarship fund and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, an organization supported by the Snow Bears, he said.
The Ride for Wyatt grew out of the death of Matthew and Michelle Coy’s son Wyatt in January 2917. The scholarship is awarded to area students planning a career in mental health professions, Coy said, and the ride is also to raise awareness of, and reduce, the stigma of mental illness.
This year’s ride will definitely be different than last year, Coy said. It will still be a 60-mile ride but there will not really be the social gathering aspect. There will be two stops along the way but a meal will not be available as was the case last year when there was a chili feed in Pine Island. Coffee and donuts will be available and at the second stop there will be hot dogs, he said.
The Silent Auction, he said, has been moved online.
The ride will begin at Riverside Park, he said, go west to Dodge Center, east to Salem Corners, to Byron and then back to Mantorville.
Coy said that given the pandemic and its restrictions he originally had “expectations set low.” Last year he had hoped for 50 participants and 74 riders turned out. Two weeks ago, he said, the number had already reached 20 pre-registered and at least that many who had committed to the ride.
Registration is $25 and can be completed online through Eventbrite and a link on the “Ride for Wyatt” Facebook page. Shirts, swag and silent auction items are also available.
Coy said the original plans for the scholarship were to raise enough to set up an endowment to provide a one-year scholarship to a student each year. He said he estimated it would take five to 10 years to reach the goal of $25,000 to $30,000 to make that possible.
Last year’s ride and associated donations raised $40,000 and the fund is now being administered through the Rochester Area Foundation. Contributions can be made directly to the scholarship through the foundation. The new goal, he said, is for the fund to be able to offer four-year scholarships to students.