McCallum to ride from Canada to Mexico to raise awareness, funds

“These soldiers are great people. They’re going over to do what others don’t want to. They’re leaving their families to take care of us. We need to do our part to take care of them,” said McCallum, whose younger son, Greg, has enrolled in Army ROTC at CSC. 

McCallum will start at the International Peace Garden in North Dakota May 10. He said he chose the location because of its constitution and connection to International Peace. His goal is to reach Red River, New Mexico, for a large bike rally on Memorial Day organized to honor men and women who have and are currently serving in the Armed Forces. He will set up a booth to educate other riders about the Maine Troop Greeters and the USO and build awareness for his fundraiser, which is set up so donors can contribute to one or both organizations.

He plans to reach the Mexico border at Big Bend National Park in Texas, riding with a large American flag attached to his bike.

The Maine Troop Greeters have welcomed home or sent off more than a million and a half service men and women since 2003, according to McCallum. 

“The USO does a lot more than most people realize. They have lounges where the service personnel can relax, call or email home, and have refreshments,” McCallum said.

When he began to plan his publicity, McCallum knew he needed a logo for his brochure and Facebook and Twitter pages, so he contacted Art Professor Mary Donahue last semester and she decided to use the project as an assignment for students in Graphic Design Practicum (ART 422).  

The five students in the class each created logos for McCallum to consider. He attended the class and together with the students, discussed the pros and cons of the logos, how the logo would be used, and what would work best, Donahue said. 

McCallum selected the logo designed by Taylor Juelfs that was displayed in the Senior Art Show earlier this semester. The students also designed brochures to gain practice in layout and a piece for their portfolio. The brochure by Whitney Coop with Juelf’s logo was selected by McCallum.

“It’s a real-life project that is service learning in many ways. We liked Hank’s personal story of hearing how his son was taken care of by those service organizations when he came back from Afghanistan. The fundraising ride is great way to raise awareness about support for servicemen and women. We were glad to help with creating a memorable identity for it,” Donahue said. 

Juelfs said she wanted the logo to convey the meaning and intent of McCallum's fundraising trip from border to border.

“I like working with negative space so I tried multiple ideas with the hands until I put them in the headlight. I also got some feedback from Hank until we could come up with something that would really tell a story by just looking at it,” Juelfs said.

Coop said working with McCallum was a valuable experience.

“I am super exited to see how his trip goes and how many people he is able to reach between the ride and the brochures. I am glad I had the opportunity to be a part of this great cause,” she said.