DB Patriot Guard Fund

[Lou]

At the beginning of the year, my employer provided an opportunity for all employees to make a donation to the charity or worthwhile cause of their “choice”. The best part of the deal was that the Company would match the employees’ donation, dollar-for-dollar. The only drawback is that we were limited to a handful of well-established charities or causes. Among them were the United Way, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Humane Society, etc… deserving and important entities all. I chose the Humane Society, an organization I respect and supported in the recent past.

But what I really wanted to do, was to donate to the Kansas-born Patriot Guard. Regrettably, it wasn’t on the “approved” organization list, although a co-worker submitted the Guard as a potential “approved entity” for next year, should our employer provide the same opportunity.

What I’m thinking is that maybe we of the Dodge Board may be able to help the Patriot Guard in our own way. It would be great if someone here on the Board would have the time to volunteer to set-up and manage an account at a Dodge City bank and then DB members could make contributions to that account via the bank. Maybe sometime down the road, we could even sponsor a fundraiser (street dance, silent auction, walk-a-thon, etc).

The Patriot Guard deserves our respect and support for the service they provide… shielding the influence of the Phelps Clan (or cult) for the families of military casualties. The Guard performs this function as invited guests of the families.

I’m not a Guard member, nor am I a rider. But I think most of the expenses Guard members incur are paid for out-of-pocket. Not to mention time-off from their jobs to attend, and provide service, at the funerals of our soldiers. Maybe we could fund catered dinners for the Guard after the services or at the very least, gas money to help them attend the services.

If I were still a resident of my beloved DC, I’d step-up and volunteer to open the account myself. But I live 50 miles away and I think it would be better for a senior DB member to “helm” the fund. I’m not gonna mention any names, but I think Tee (ooops, that just slipped out!) may have provided a similar function when one of our members was robbed recently.

I’ll be the first guy to sit down and write out a check for $100 if this idea gets off the ground. And I’ll support future fundraisers or functions, should they happen. I know it sounds crass, trying to get someone else to do the work, but I think the DB has a lot of upstanding, community-oriented members who would do a much better job than I could.

This is just an idea, folks. Heaven forbid that I’d intentionally put anyone on the spot. But if anyone has the time and/or the opportunity to lead (should this develop into a DB effort), I’ll be a good supporter, I promise.

Patriot Guard Riders -->Home

[K C Muffin]

I'd be up for that one, too. If somebody else will play banker.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by Lou

....I’m not gonna mention any names, but I think Tee (ooops, that just slipped out!) may have provided a similar function when one of our members was robbed recently.

I wonder if Craig would be interested.