Diehn, Lynaugh organize Emotions in Motion walk

lington and Terri Lynaugh of Hutchinson are partnering with Minnesota-based nonprofit organization Suicide Awareness Voices Education (SAVE) to put on an Emotions in Motion Walk for Life event on Sunday, Sept. 17, at the McLeod County Fairgrounds in Hutchinson.
Diehn and Lynaugh are both suicide survivors, which is a term used to describe those who have lost a loved one to suicide. Diehn lost her sister, Shelly Teubert, 43, on Jan. 21, 2017, and Lynaugh lost her sister, Tami (Beasley) Newcomb, 48, on Aug. 25, 2014.
Diehn reached out to SAVE soon after her sister passed away, looking for grief support but also looking to learn more about what she could to raise awareness in the area. From there, Diehn reached out to Lynaugh, a long-time friend, to see if she would be interested in organizing an Emotions in Motion Walk for Life event. Lynaugh agreed and preparations for the event began shortly thereafter.
This is the first Walk for Life event to take place in Hutchinson. “We named it Hutchinson because that’s the location of the event, but it’s really more of an area event. We have participants from five counties with Meeker, McLeod and Sibley counties being the bulk of where the participants are coming from,” said Diehn. So far, the event has over 150 registered participants and 12 participating teams.
Besides the 10-lap walk, which begins at 1 p.m., the event includes a kids fun zone, food and refreshments, a silent auction as well as two speakers: SAVE Executive Director Dan Reidenberg and Dan Hanson, who is a suicide survivor, combat veteran and involved in the Wounded Warrior Project.
“Really we just want to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention,” said Diehn. “We want to reduce the stigma.”
For more about the planned walk, see the Aug. 2 print edition of The Chronicle.