Matt Sauri doesn’t toss around the term “American hero” often.
But he has no trouble giving that moniker to his traveling partner, Kevin Mincio, an Army veteran delivering on a promise to an old friend.
Mincio and Sauri arrived in Iola Wednesday afternoon as part of their “Team Jesse” ride, a 4,200-mile cross-country trek to raise money for education and help for families of fallen soldiers.
The duo happened to cross the halfway part of their journey earlier in the day at Eureka. Mincio and Sauri left Iola this morning en route to Ottawa, where they were to meet the family of Christopher Wasser, killed in action in in 2004. Missouri is next.
“We’re halfway in terms of distance, but only about a third of the way in terms of time it’s taking us to get there,” Mincio said.
The cyclists are due to arrive in New York City on Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. It will bring Mincio, literally, back to Team Jesse’s proverbial starting line.
MINCIO, THEN 30, was a vice president at Goldman Sachs in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. He was in his office at 1 Liberty Plaza, next door to the twin towers, when the first plane struck.
The impact from the explosion blew out Mincio’s office windows. He evacuated the building in time to see the second airline plunge into the south WTC tower. He was so close debris from the second attack flew over his head.
The events of that day left an indelible image with Mincio, who voluntarily gave up his high-paying job at Goldman Sachs to enlist in the Army.
It was in the Army, while deployed in Iraq, that Mincio made a promise to Jesse Williams, a staff sergeant from Santa Rosa, Calif. Like Mincio, Williams enlisted shortly after the terror attacks. Mincio vowed that if anything were to happen to Williams, he would ensure Williams’ young daughter, Amaya, was cared for.
Mincio’s service to his country was completed in 2005. Shortly thereafter, he was introduced to Matt Sauri, chief executive officer for a Seattle-based consulting firm. Sauri was unsure if he could hire another employee, “and I felt bad about disappointing a veteran.”
Then he met the ambitious Mincio and learned his story, including his previous success in the business world. Mincio was hired, and quickly proved so adept at his job that he was hired away by another firm.
THEN CAME THE news of April 8, 2007.
Williams, 25, was killed by a sniper while conducting combat operations in Baqubah, Iraq. Mincio remembered his vow, and immediately established a college fund for Amaya Williams.
By the time Amaya is 12, her college will be paid for, Mincio said.
With that goal reached, Mincio couldn’t shake the image of other children of fallen soldiers who would be in similar circumstances.
Mincio approached his old employer, Sauri, about forming Team Jesse. The organization earned its official non-profit status last fall, at which time Mincio began planning his bike ride.
“I knew Matt was an exceptional athlete, so I asked him to ride along,” Mincio said.
The trip began Jan. 9 in Williams’ native Santa Rosa on what would have been his 30th birthday.
