March Newsletter
Hello Everybody,
We have had some outstanding weather lately and I'm sure several of you are
taking full advantage of it. Please keep in mind the extra need for safety this
time of year. Not only are motorists not used to watching for
us, but there are also other hazards such as water running down street gutters,
water standing on the roadway, and loose rock and gravel, especially at
intersections where you make your turns, are all common hazards to watch for
this time of year. Please be careful and enjoy your riding experience.
I see that the Kearney group has posted the registration form for the
state rally on the website. I encourage you to print some off and get them to
your people ASAP. If you pre-register you get a better deal. I know that
Kearney has been working very hard on planning this first annual State Eagle
Riders Rally and I would like their efforts to be rewarded with a BIG turnout.
Please plan to attend July 20-22.
On a similar note, the Bellevue group is
planning a poker run for the State Convention which will be held June 6-9 in
Bellevue. I know that this will be a good time as well and I would encourage
everyone to attend. I know that they will be reserving some campsites nearby so
if you're planning on camping please contact Susan Nielsen at:
susannielsen3912@aol.com.
Please keep in mind that this will be the only year that the State Rally and
the State Convention will be held separately. Starting next year the State
Rally will be held in conjunction with the State Convention. If the
Host Aerie does not have an Eagle Riders group then the E. R. group nearest to
that Aerie will plan the Rally.
I am pleased to inform you all that the Grand Aeries "Programs
Dept." has taken over the task of organizing the Eagle Riders. Last month we
sent them a list of suggested by-laws. I have since received an e-mail back
from the Grand Aerie stating that the Eagle Riders, its suggested by-laws, and
the patch design, will all be discussed and voted on at the Grand Aerie
Convention in July. Those wishing to be heard, and vote on these matters are
encouraged to attend. I am going to send a letter to the Grand Aerie requesting
that, should the patch design change, they grandfather our patch in and accept
it as an official patch of the Eagle Riders for NEBRASKA
MEMBERS ONLY. I am also going to add each chapters President and Secretary to
the list of National Contacts which I will be sending to the Grand Aerie.
With the Grand Aerie taking over that task my hands are freed up to
concentrate more on matters closer to home here in Nebraska. It has been my
thought all along that each Eagle Rider group would do poker rides and fund
raisers for people in need within their own community and to come together once
a year to do an Annual Statewide fund raiser for a major charity. I believe
that I have come up with a pretty good idea for this annual
statewide event and it falls right inline with what we have already done for
Trey. As you may or may not know, last year we did a poker run for Trey Gulzow,
an infant boy that was born with a liver disease. At the end of the
run we adopted Trey as our L'il Bro. Now Trey is doing better and his parents
say that they have his medical bills under control and are declining any further
help. But Trey is still one of us now and I would like to do an
annual fund ride for liver disease. It would be a great way to keep the Gulzows
involved with our group and the proceeds would go to the actual liver foundation
that researches the specific type of liver disease that
Trey had. Please share this idea with your people at your next meeting and
reply back to me with your thoughts, ideas, and concerns.
Thank you all so much for making the Eagle Riders one of the best and most
respected ride groups in the state of Nebraska. Keep up the good work, and
Happy Trails.
Patrick G. Spangler
Nebraska State Coordinator Eagle Riders
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