Friday, January 30, 2009

Minnesota Morns the loss of CWO Philip E. Windorski, Bovey, MN

The wife of CWO Philip E. Windorski, Jr. has graciously invited the Minnesota Patriot Guard to attend the funeral of her husband. We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of CWO Philip E. Windorski, Jr. and to let them know we will never forget their husband, father, son, brother and friend.

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died from wounds suffered when two OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters crashed Jan. 26 in Kirkuk, Iraq. They were assigned to the 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Killed were:

Chief Warrant Officer Philip E. Windorski, Jr., 35, of Bovey, Minn.

Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Kelley, 30, of Cameron, Mo.

Chief Warrant Officer Joshua M. Tillery, 31, of Beaverton, Ore.

Chief Warrant Officer Benjamin H. Todd, 29, of Colville, Wash.

The incident is under investigation.


The Ride Captain In Charge for this mission will be Don Adamson - Ride Captain for the Grand Rapids sector.

At this time we are working with the family to figure out the details. They will be posted to our Mission Calendar and the National forum as soon as they become available, so remember to check it.

Remember to keep CWO Philip E. Windorski, Jr's family in your prayers especially in the coming weeks.

A Gift, and Honor, from the Minnesota VFW


On a Saturday night nearly two weeks ago, several of us on the MN board were asked to represent you all at the 106th Annual Midwinter Banquet of the Department of Minnesota Veterans of Foreign Wars, which was held in St. Paul. Representing the board were myself, George Winslow, Doug Bley, Tim Leonhardt, and Jerry Teeson.

State Commander Stan Kowalski and State Adjutant/Quartermaster Jim Hesselgrave presented us with a special patch that was designed as a means of saying thank you to all PGR members in our state. They expressed their sincere appreciation for our mission of honoring those who serve and supporting our veterans. They asked us to distribute these patches at missions, meet & greets, or wherever we feel it is appropriate to do so.

As you all know, it's a humbling experience to be thanked by those who put their lives on the line to defend our country. It was truly an honor to accept these on behalf of everyone in Minnesota.

I am attaching a couple of photos from the night - one shows Stan Kowalski presenting the patches, and one is of the patch itself.

Tomorrow, we have several RCs and ARCs attending an Accident Scene Management Class so we will start to distribute them there, and the RCs can then distribute them in whatever way works best in each sector.

To Department of Minnesota Veterans of Foreign Wars...we thank you for the honor. We will wear these patches proudly...and most of all, thank you for defending our freedoms.

Monica Mead
MN State Captain
Patriot Guard Riders


Thursday, January 29, 2009

It's Time To Nominate And Elect Two Board Of Directors Again

The Minnesota Patriot Guard need to elect two people to fill the expiring terms of Terry Throndson and Tim Leonhardt on the Board of Directors.

After reading these two documents, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.pdf and BOD Election.doc (both are clickable links), we'd like for you to nominate either yourself or another member that you feel possess the qualifications needed for this position. Please be sure the nomination papers are filled out completely and include a picture (digital is preferred) before turning them in. The two people who's terms are expiring can be renominated and reelected to the Board of Directors.

The Roles And Responsibilities Of The Board of Directors is in .PDF form. If you don't have Adobe Reader, please click here to download the latest reader.

Nominations are open from today to midnight 01 April 2009. We will post the names, along with links to resumes and pictures of those nominated by 04 April 2009 on our website's News & Notes. Please make your opinions known to your Ride Captain or other member of the Leadership Advisory Committee. Online voting will be conducted online from 06 April through midnight 15 April 2008 by the Leadership Advisory Committee (as listed in the linked documents), please vote for 2 people. After the current Board of Directors votes on or around 29 April 2009 to accept the recommendation of the Leadership Advisory Committee, the winners names will be posted on our website's News & Notes. The new board members will assume their position on 01 May 2009.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Volunteers to sell Raffle Tickets at IMS Show & Donnie Smith Show

Fellow PGR Members,

It's that time of year again... No, not time to ride just yet. Time for the two big annual motorcycle shows in the Twin Cities: the International Motorcycle Show in Minneapolis and the Donnie Smith Show in St. Paul. These shows are a great opportunity to recruit new members and to get the word out about our major fundraising event for the year: The Patriot Ride. For those of you not familiar with the Patriot Ride you can find out more about the event here: http://thepatriotride.org/. All proceeds raised by the ride and the bike raffle are donated to the Minnesotan's Military Appreciation Fund and the Minnesota Patriot Guard.

This year we are partnering with our friends and Patriot Ride sponsors, Dennis Kirk, for both shows. We will have a booth adjoining theirs in Minneapolis and only a few spaces away in St. Paul. Dennis Kirk has been kind enough to cover all of the costs for getting the booth space for us, all we need to do is staff the booth to talk to people and sell raffle tickets for this year's bike raffle. We will need volunteers to work shifts on February 13th, 14th, and 15th for the International Motorcycle Show, and March 28th and 29th for the Donnie Smith Show. If you are available and want to help staff the booth at one or both shows, please e-mail me at birdie@mnpatriotguard.org and let me know which dates you are available to work, and whether you would prefer morning, afternoon, or evening times.

Your participation and help in all of our missions and events it was makes the Patriot Guard successful at all we do. Thank you in advance for your help at these two shows. Here's hoping we're all riding again sooner rather than later!

Nate Zenker
Metro Senior Ride Captain
birdie@mnpatriotguard.org

Friday, January 9, 2009

6th Annual Biker Day At The Capital

Although it is not a requirement to ride a motorcycle in order to be a member of the Patriot Guard, many of us are motorcyclists. For many of us, riding a motorcycle is much more than just a hobby - it is way of life.

Our friends at ABATE (American Bikers for Awareness, Training, and Education) will be holding their 6th Annual Biker Day at the Capitol on Wednesday 04 February 2009, from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm. The more motorcyclists they have present, the more of an impact they have on our legislators. ABATE is hoping to have 500 motorcyclist attend this year. They need you to attend so can they reach their goal of 500 motorcyclists.

ABATE has several goals this year that involve significant legislative impact on motorcyclist rights issues, safety and training. To participate at Biker Day at the Capitol, you must register by 21 Jan 2009. For more information on ABATE's goals and to register, please click on the following links: goals and register.

Thank you.

George