PGR Garage Sale - Proceed to Legal Defense Fund

Just an FYI, Patriot Guard Riders is holding a Garage Sale on eBay with the proceeds going to the Legal Defense Fund. They have items currently on sale, so please check them out. To see what's currently being offered go to: http://motors.shop.ebay.com/merchant/pgr_garagesale2008

The following is posted on the National Website:

As we accessorize and customize our bikes we all end up with a garage full of parts that collect dust and take up space. We can't bring ourselves to get rid of these items, but we have no good use for them and may never need them again. Well, the PGR now has a need for those items. We need you to go through your garage and DONATE all of your good, clean, unwanted motorcycle accessories/parts to the PGR. We will sell these items on eBay and all proceeds (sales less shipping costs) will be used for the Legal Defense Fund. Motorcycle parts/accessories include pegs, seats, lights, handle bars, grips, kickstands, sissie bars, luggage, bags, mirrors, etc...

Please follow the simple steps listed below should you choose to participate in this event.

Ship your donated item to:

PGR Garage Sale
C/O BTC
900 N. East Ave.
Panama City, Florida 32401

Include a description with all pertinent info such as Part #, Make, Model, and Year if the item is bike specific.

Please include your name and email address as we will email you a receipt for your tax deductible donation. It will be up to each individual contributor to list the value of the donated item(s) on each receipt when received.

Should you have any questions that are specific to this fund raising event please email them to: pgrldfgaragesale@gmail.com

Thank you.

You Do Make A Difference

This comes from Doug Bley, the Ride Captain from Metro NW...George

---

Someone I do business with has supported the MN Patriot Guard simply because I said it was a good thing. I received this email today and it reminded me of the real value we bring holding that American flag. Earlier this year Monica talked about the face of the Patriot Guard being the flag. That in mind I reminded my friend that what he saw in AZ he would see all across this great land. Ordinary people honoring heroes in silence and with dignity. Making a difference in their communities. Thank you, MN Patriot Guard members, for being part of this wonderful movement and rebirth of patriotism.

Doug,

I went to AZ after the holiday and had two sales calls Monday of this week. In between the two I stopped by where I go to Church there and could not figure out why on a Monday morning around noon the parking lot was full. As I got to the back of the lot I saw all of these motorcycles parked with American flags and then could see them standing guard by the entrance to the Church. What an experience, I have seen short news clips about your group, but never seen this in person. You are a dedicated group.

I'd like to post something from Doug Bley, the Ride Captain from Metro NW...George

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the response to the Metro Area Meet and Greet 28Nov08. We don't have a hard count but we are estimating at least 175 Toys were collected so well over 200 people were there! WOW!!! The Anoka County food shelf received a great boost as well, 441 lbs. of food. The attendees also generously donated $130 towards the Patriot Guard Riders Legal defense fund.

Your generosity is humbling as many kids are going to go without this Holiday season. As we do... anonymously.. we made a difference to the 175 kids who will now have a gift under their tree.

For those who were there it was nice putting a few more faces with email names (Pete the Pyeater comes to mind) and in general relax and laugh with you all. We will do this again.

Thanks to Two Stooges for hosting us and the donations of food and drink, Zylstra HD and Dennis Kirk for raffle donations, the St Paul Chapter of the Blue Star Mom's for their $500 donation to us, John Redfield and the North Metro Blue Star Mom's for having the stores open, and as always the real thanks goes to our soldiers currently serving and the vets who kept us safe in years past.

Doug Bley RC Metro NW

Today is Thanksgiving Day

In looking over the past year there are a lot of things to be thankful for. I’m thankful that we have young men and women who still care enough about our country that they are willing to give up time out of their lives to protect and defend our freedoms. In walking through the grocery store last night, I noticed all the babies and young children, and thought about those serving in the sandbox and the Balkans who don’t have the luxury to be able to spend the holidays with their families, and watch their children preparing for their first Christmas, their first step, that first day of school, the first communion, that first time behind the wheel of the car…all the things the rest of us take for granted. Or the spouse left behind that has to raise the kids alone, or figure out how to replace the water heater that just broke, or where to take the car to get it worked on. These are the true heroes, the young men and women who serve in the armed services of this country, and their families, and I pray we never forget their sacrifices.

I’m thankful that patriotism has come back into favor. That never again will our young men and women return home from fighting for their country, and be ashamed of their duty, or be treated like outcasts by an ungrateful nation. I’m thankful that we are able to attend the send off’s and that we are there to welcome them home. That we do make a difference in that young man or woman's life.

And I’m thankful that I have a warm place to sleep tonight and will be sitting down to a turkey dinner later today, unlike some of our veterans who have no home, and the prospects of a turkey dinner are bleak.

I’m thankful that we’ve been able to make a difference in our older veteran’s lives, by visiting them in the VA Homes and establishing friendships as we played bingo together. For some it’s the only outside contact they have.

I’m thankful that Lynn still has a job, because some of us have either lost our jobs or may not have one much longer.

I’m thankful that because through the generosity of fellow Minnesotans, that the MN Patriot Guard currently has the funds available to assist those serving our country, those who may become wounded, or God forbid, make that ultimate sacrifice and lay down their life for our country.

I’m thankful that as an organization we are establishing and have established relationships with the Family Readiness Groups throughout the state, so our National Guard families know someone here in Minnesota cares about them and their sacrifices here at home.

And if it’s not to early to ask for my Christmas wish, I wish that all our young men and women return safely back home to their loved ones. That the only missions in 2009 will be send off’s and welcome homes, or our visits to the VA Homes.

Several Things

There are several things going on that we need to share with you. First, by July of 2009 Minnesota will have approximately 5,000+ young men and women deployed to the sandbox. (I remember 2006-2007 when Red Bull had 3,200+ deployed and how we all breathed a sigh of relief when they returned home.) Over the next 6 months we will be holding a lot of send off's as the units leave Minnesota. This is an excellent way to recharge your batteries and really feel good, so please plan on attending those that fit into your schedule. And in 2010, we will be there to welcome our heroes back home.

Our leadership has been holding talks with the Minnesota National Guard on ways to improve upon our relationship with the young men and women who serve our State and Nation in the Minnesota National Guard. It was felt that we have done an excellent job of welcoming home the troops, and turning out for the MIRTS. We have gotten the message across to them that they were in our thoughts when we sent the signed Patriot Guard flags to units while they where deployed.

However, we haven't focused on the family members left behind when those troops deployed. So we are going to be starting something new. HOTH and your Ride Captains are going to work with the Family Readiness Groups (FRG's), and coordinate with them by inviting the families to join us at one or two Meet and Greets during the next year. It's a way for us to let the families know that someone cares about them, and respects the sacrifices they go through while their loved ones are serving our country. And it's a way for us to meet some really neat families living here in Minnesota. Who knows how many future motorcyclists we will be responsible for, just by spending a few hours with the families of those who are protecting our freedoms.

It's also a way for us to build a relationship with the FRG's so that they will be more willing to approach us should a family need assistance. Our HOTH program is there to assist the families of those serving in the military and National Guard that have exhausted all other resources for assistance and have fallen through the cracks. HOTH also assists our young warriors and their families should they be wounded.

And HOTH coordinates visits with our veterans who reside in the VA Nursing homes throughout the state. If you haven't joined us in visiting the veterans at the various VA Nursing homes, I encourage you to do so. Some of them for whatever reasons don't have visitors, so you may be the only outside contact they have. What an opportunity to raise the spirits of someone who gave so much to our country, and protected the freedoms we all enjoy every day.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I can't help to give thanks to each and every one of you for making the Minnesota Patriot Guard what it is. Our men and women who serve know you are there to honor and support them. They know you will be there to protect their family should they make that ultimate sacrifice. Our Gold Star families know we will never forget their son or daughter and the sacrifice they made, and that we are there for them. Our veterans know you'll be there to visit them in the VA Homes. And our politicians know you do make a difference to the veterans and those kids who currently serve and protect our freedoms. You truly are some of the greatest people I've ever had the pleasure to meet.

MN Patriot Guard Finances

Today, it is my pleasure to post some information on the finances of MN Patriot Guard. I am proud to report our year to date donations and we will in the future announce them every six months.

From 01 January 2008 through 18 September 2008 we have donated $64,541.02 in program services to Minnesota military members and their families, wounded and injured, families of Fallen Heroes, and our Veterans.

Where did the money go?

34th Division Chaplains’ Fund	$2,500.00
Disabled Vets Rest Camp	$5,000.00
Flags for MN Fallen Military	$5,000.00
Gold Star Event	$5,313.65
Military Heroes Foundation	$2,500.00
Minnesotan’s Military Appreciation Fund	$19,447.30
Project Backpack (children of MN military)	$6,500.00
TTTT Scholarship Fund	$5,000.00
HOTH Donations broken down by Sectors
Brainerd Sector
WIA	$1,000.00
Flags	$477.48
Helping a family of a currently serving soldier	$300.00
Mankato Sector
WIA	$1,000.00
Metro Sectors
WIA	$1,000.00
WIA	$1,000.00
WIA Tuition Assistance	$750.00
St. Cloud Sector
Melrose House Clean-up	$500.00
Thief River Falls Sector
WIA	$1,000.00
Willmar Sector
KMS Memorial Ride	$500.00
Worthington Sector
Chairlift for Luverne MVH	$500.00
Veterans Home Events
St. Cloud Monte Carlo Nights	$200.00
MPLS Veterans Home Bingo	$825.00
Hastings Veterans Home Bingo	$194.98
Hastings Veterans Home Bike Show	$625.15
Luverne Veterans Home Bingo	$130.00
Disabled Veterans Turkey Hunt	$600.00
Fergus Falls Veterans Home Bingo	$70.00
Silver Bay Veterans Home	$1,000.00
Flags for Veterans Homes
Luverne	$400.00
Fergus Falls	$400.00
Bus Ticket for Veteran	$195.00
Total	$64,541.02

A few notes about this:

Our HOTH mission is not to duplicate the services of other organizations - it is to help with needs that fall through the cracks of conventional assistance. Some of the organizations shown that we have donated to have come to our attention through requests for assistance made to our board.

Rather than step into areas where the generous people of Minnesota are already working hard to support our military families and have a solid system in place to help, we as a board have chosen to support those requests in this manner.

A note about the donation to the Minnesotan's Military Appreciation Fund of nearly $20,000 (I'll try to make this as simple as possible): We collaborate with the generous folks at Dennis Kirk on the Patriot Ride event and bike raffle, and 50% of the net proceeds are designated directly for the MMAF. All raffle ticket deposits went into a special account set up by MN Patriot Guard, since we secured the gambling license for the raffle; other revenues were handled by Dennis Kirk.

Final net proceeds from the Patriot Ride and bike raffle were just over $73,000, half of which was designated for MMAF ($36,600). After a final accounting, the donation to MMAF came from both Dennis Kirk and MN Patriot Guard accounts. To sum it up: The efforts of PGR volunteers and the generosity and hard work from the people at Dennis Kirk was incredible!

In the past there was talk of scholarships for the children of Fallen Heroes from Minnesota. Tribute to the Troops, whose mission is slightly different but closely tied to our own, has taken on this challenge. We have chosen to support this effort through them this year with a $5,000 contribution, and have pledged $10,000 in 2009. Our youngest rider on the Patriot Ride this year - the 6-year-old son of a man we honored with a flag line - will someday benefit from those contributions.

Several of the amounts shown by sector are labeled WIA - wounded or injured members of our military. There are often other requests that are responded to by our HOTH team and/or the board on a case-by-case basis. We choose not to show most names out of respect to privacy for those who defend our nation, unless these activities have been in the news or we have the consent of those we have assisted.

The Veterans' Home events are much more than numbers on a spreadsheet. Due to privacy polices of the VA, we normally cannot show you the smiles on the faces of our Veterans - but those who are active in Bingo and other activities can tell you that they happen each and every time, without question. As our HOTH team is fond of saying, "Our real power does not lie in a checkbook - it lies in our hands and in our hearts."

This report would not have been possible without the generous donations we've received - from PGR members, friends and families; the Patriot Ride event; from corporations in Minnesota; proceeds from our store sales; and the hard work from our HOTH representatives working throughout the state. Thank you, thank you everyone for making a difference.

Follow up KIA SSG Brian Studer, 28, of Ramsey, MN

MN Patriot Guard members...

We thought it appropriate to let you know that a very small group of Ride Captains and Assistant Ride Captains attended a mission today honoring SSG Brian Studer at his interment at FSNC. The family was clear in its request for a discreet and very low key mission. They were very concerned about uninvited guests showing up with the RNC being held in St Paul. Many of you have seen the video clips of the violent protests that have taken place and with that in mind their fears were founded on fact. That media released details of the services was unfortunate but the family did not change their request for a small discreet showing from us.

It is important to remember we serve at the pleasure of the families of the fallen. Our organization was founded on the principles of shielding them from unwanted disturbances at events surrounding the fallen heroes services. All of our decisions are made with that in mind and we will always consider them first.

Not opening this up as a general mission in no way implies that all of our members aren't deeply appreciated for their hard work. It was a decision based on how to best fulfill the family wishes.

If you have any questions please send an email to missions@mnpatriotguard.org.

Thanks for the hard work you do!