MN Patriot Guard Members,

We just had the annual Patriot Ride, sponsored by Dennis Kirk. The ride is the only real fundraiser other than sales from the MN Patriot Guard (PGR) on-line store. Therefore, it's important that the event is successful. We don't have final numbers yet, but with all the people at the ride I will assume it was a great success.

During the ceremony we were reminded of our mission by the words of the Kennedy family as they told us the impact we had on their darkest days.

I want to mention just a few things about couple of other Organizations. As you know our scope of what we do is funerals for our fallen heroes either KIA (Killed In Action), Active Duty (In a branch of service at time of death), or a veteran that had at one time served to protect the freedoms we have today.

We also attend Military send-offs and welcome homes. We do this only on invite and unselfishly by going to the mission and staying focused on why we are there - HONOR, DIGNITY, and RESPECT. It isn't about any one of us or any group in our organization; it is about who we are standing for and their family.

It doesn't mean it stops there. The MN PGR stops there, because we focus on what we do best and other groups take it from there.

TTT (tribute to the troops) is a great example (many of the Patriot Guard are also members of multiple groups). The TTT does remembrance missions of our fallen heroes since 911. It is an awesome experience to attend their missions.

Another group would be the Honor and Remember group honoring the memory of all veterans. Attending their mission is another great experience.

If possible and you have time outside the MN PGR, I would recommend checking out the other groups to continue the mission after we have done ours. You won't regret it. Just always bring your sunglasses to hide the tears.

Tim Leonhardt
President, MN PG0

Update on the Trademark:  

 

The National PGR Board is still waiting for the United States Patent and Trademark Office to make a decision.  It could come at any time or it could be a few more months.  We are all just waiting for the final decision to be made.  National remains confident that we will prevail in this law suit.

 

The MN Patriot Guard back patch and logo used on our small patch and magnets are under copyright by the MN Patriot Guard organization.  Use of either image, or the words "Patriot Guard Riders" without express permission is a violation of copyright law and not allowed - that includes t-shirts, magnets, stickers, etc.  Violations could be prosecuted under the law.

Why do we have 2 calendars on our website?

 

- Anything that is an official mission or event of the MN PG per Mission Scope is placed on the MN PG calendar. The MN PG has responsibility for those or we have a part in it that we manage and we run them. RCIC's are assigned and we officially participate and represent the MN PG organization.

 

- The Non MN PG calendar is for events that benefit/proceeds go to support military and/or veterans for member awareness if they wish to attend on their own as part of the general community/private citizen. There is no official participation or representation of the MN PG/PGR or members in these events. Members can wear their patches to these events, as long as they are participating as part of the public and not in any official capacity at the event, in the program or otherwise making it appear to be official MN PG/PGR participation.  Members asked for a way to know what else was going on around the state to support military & veterans if there wasn't a mission going on or one going on in their area. 

 

Mission Scope

What is Mission Scope?

 

The most current mission scope we operate under was revised and has been in place since 2010 after being voted on by the LAC (Ride Captains, SRC’s) and ratified by our Board of Directors. It helps guide our leaders as to what is an approved MN PG mission and what isn’t.

 

The revision was a very painful process - as our missions grew, some things had to fall by the wayside to support the mission, and many factors were taken into consideration. Each year at the State Leadership meeting, mission scope is discussed to see if it needs to be re-looked and again at the Oct 2012 meeting, it was again voted to make no changes.

The Mission scope ensures that we don’t take away from the great things that other organizations do or play preferences by offering services to one and not another for a like event. It ensures that we don’t leave families feeling that their veteran is more important to us than another’s by offering different services in different parts of the state. It upholds our Gold Star families who felt that being a flagline for "show" took away from our presence at a very difficult time for them.  Most important, it keeps the flag line sacred for those who gave all and have served.  Failure to follow the mission scope causes unnecessary hurt to those we are held to uphold - our military, veterans, and their families.

 

The MN PG Mission Scope is located under the Member Documents on our website (www.mnpatriotguard.org).  If you have any questions, please contact missions@mnpatriotguard.org or your local Ride Captain.  Thank you for all you do!