Message from the National Board of Directors:
My brothers and sisters,
I hope you all had a great holiday season and will have a great new year. Bees here again, with a short update from your Board of Directors. 2015 was a busy year for the Patriot Guard Riders. Our VP of Operations, Robert “Gator” Collins has just finished pulling some numbers for 2015 and we wanted to share them with you all as soon as possible.
Our membership is now at 330,302. That’s right 330,302….whew that is a bunch. Let me put that in perspective for you. The Patriot Guard is larger than the active duty components of the US Navy, The US Air Force and The US Marine Corps, and 72% of the US Army.
There were 141,840 threads started on the national site and 2,505,699 posts in response to those threads.
We participated in 10,844 missions of all types in 2015. To be more specific, 9,493 Honor Missions, 33 missions at Arlington, 97 Memorial missions. We did 51 send offs and 191 welcome home events. There were 104 Wreaths Across America missions, 30 Snowball related mission and 845 Help on the Homefront (Hoth) missions.
I had to read these numbers a few times to wrap my head around them and it made me think of how we got to this place. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of hours have gone into the planning all this activity. How many times we have been hot or cold, how many times we have rolled and unrolled our flags. How many hours we have stood in the flagine. I could go on and on.
All this has been done without ONE, yep, ONE paid employee. Every penny that comes to the Patriot Guard whether on the State or National level is used to support the organization, all of us should be very proud of that. I’m sure that there are not many organizations that can make that statement.
Ok, now think of what these numbers really mean. Think of the difference you have made in the lives of the people that we have served and stood for. The smile of a lonely vet at an ice cream social, the pride of a wife or husband when they arrive at a tiny church down in the country and see US Flags waving in the breeze held folks dressed in jeans that say “It’s my honor”. To be allowed to serve another and the most desperate time of their lives, to show honor to those that have stood in harms way for our way of life is what these numbers really mean. I will say what I said to you the last time, what I say every time I get the chance. What you do is right and a noble thing. It’s what, as Americans, we must do.
Our mission is far from over, so get busy, read the national site, find a mission, post condolences and go. We don’t care if you ride or what you ride….just go.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact any member of your State leadership.
Thanks for what you do and Ride Safe!
Bees
I hope you all had a great holiday season and will have a great new year. Bees here again, with a short update from your Board of Directors. 2015 was a busy year for the Patriot Guard Riders. Our VP of Operations, Robert “Gator” Collins has just finished pulling some numbers for 2015 and we wanted to share them with you all as soon as possible.
Our membership is now at 330,302. That’s right 330,302….whew that is a bunch. Let me put that in perspective for you. The Patriot Guard is larger than the active duty components of the US Navy, The US Air Force and The US Marine Corps, and 72% of the US Army.
There were 141,840 threads started on the national site and 2,505,699 posts in response to those threads.
We participated in 10,844 missions of all types in 2015. To be more specific, 9,493 Honor Missions, 33 missions at Arlington, 97 Memorial missions. We did 51 send offs and 191 welcome home events. There were 104 Wreaths Across America missions, 30 Snowball related mission and 845 Help on the Homefront (Hoth) missions.
I had to read these numbers a few times to wrap my head around them and it made me think of how we got to this place. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of hours have gone into the planning all this activity. How many times we have been hot or cold, how many times we have rolled and unrolled our flags. How many hours we have stood in the flagine. I could go on and on.
All this has been done without ONE, yep, ONE paid employee. Every penny that comes to the Patriot Guard whether on the State or National level is used to support the organization, all of us should be very proud of that. I’m sure that there are not many organizations that can make that statement.
Ok, now think of what these numbers really mean. Think of the difference you have made in the lives of the people that we have served and stood for. The smile of a lonely vet at an ice cream social, the pride of a wife or husband when they arrive at a tiny church down in the country and see US Flags waving in the breeze held folks dressed in jeans that say “It’s my honor”. To be allowed to serve another and the most desperate time of their lives, to show honor to those that have stood in harms way for our way of life is what these numbers really mean. I will say what I said to you the last time, what I say every time I get the chance. What you do is right and a noble thing. It’s what, as Americans, we must do.
Our mission is far from over, so get busy, read the national site, find a mission, post condolences and go. We don’t care if you ride or what you ride….just go.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact any member of your State leadership.
Thanks for what you do and Ride Safe!
Bees
