Walter Doyle has spent his life serving others — first as a Marine, now in his personal life as he seeks to raise money for VetSAR.
This wasn’t his first attempt to bring in some cash for the nonprofit, which connects veterans to a network of available resources and helps them prepare for the future. Doyle said he feels passionately about the cause and hopes to help further its mission by raising both awareness and funds for the group.
At first he tapped into his creative side, selling painted styrofoam garden mushrooms and dinosaur eggs. When that failed to bring success he thought to set up a table for donations outside establishments, similar to when local Girl or Boy Scout troops sell cookies and popcorn to passing customers. That, too, was less than profitable. One day, he glanced at his mobility cart and realized an opportunity had been right in front of him the entire time.
“I looked at this cart and thought, ‘How could I use it to further the cause?’” Doyle said. “I thought I could ride it somewhere pulling a banner to raise awareness. At first I wanted to pull one big banner, but with all the turns I knew it wouldn’t make the turns so I decided to go with attaching a bunch of bicycle trailers and individual banners. It evolved into what it is.”
Doyle is a disabled veteran and will drive the cart, much like the scooter vehicles found in shopping plazas or theme parks, along with a long caboose of banners from Tampa to Daytona Beach. It’s nearly 150 miles and the cart averages 10.5 miles per hour at full speed. Downhill, he could add two more miles to that rate.
Even with the individual bike trailers, Doyle was in for a difficult journey. His first stretch estimated to be 50 miles from Tampa to Haines City. With his faithful travel companion and beloved pup Vet Sgt. Snoopy comfortably nestled in his lap, Doyle hit the road. He hadn’t even made it to Plant City before his first hurdle arose.
“I hit a telephone pole,” Doyle said. “My pole slipped and pulled this back trailer over farther than the rest. It broke the pole and broke the hub right off the wheel. I zip-tied it back together. I’ve got another spare wheel, but it’s a little bit different style so I’d have to jury rig it to make it work. I think this will hold for now.”
Despite the initial hiccup he persevered and slowly rolled into town Friday morning where he was met by an escort from Plant City Police Department and Jarrett Scott Ford, who offered refreshments at its facilities as a stopping point for Doyle. Jarrett-Scott Ford, along with Mobility Works, Sky Power Sports, Interstate Batteries, Mobility Plus, PowerSource Marine, Stor-It Self Storage and The Family Fraternity Moose, all chipped in to sponsor the one-of-a-kind road trip.
PCPD took him from the Forbes Road and U.S. 92 intersection all the way to Jarrett-Scott Ford on Baker Street. Sgt. Al Van Duyne said he was surprised by how quickly they were able to escort Doyle through town.
“I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get him there what with the cart only going 10 miles an hour, but we made incredible time,” Van Duyne said. “He got up to around 13 (miles per hour) on a couple of downhills and we got some tail winds. I thought it wasn’t that bad so I talked to him and asked if anyone from Polk County was picking him up and he said no. I decided we would take him all the way out to County Line Road so we knew this guy made it safe. That’s a busy road so we just felt it was the right thing to do.”
After a brief respite at Jarrett-Scott Ford and the journey toward County Line Road, Doyle and Vet Sgt. Snoopy separated from the officers and continued to slowly cruise toward the coast.
Daytona had never seemed so far away.
For more information
Call: 252-342-9770
Email: WLTDOYLE@aol.com
FB: @assistingvets
Website: To learn more about VetSAR visit VetSAR.com.