May 1, 2008

It looks like the snow is gone and we are now into our 2008 riding season (finally). This will begin our 6th riding season and will no doubt be our best yet. As we produce and participate in events every year, we learn how to better our club. This year we will host rides every third Sunday at 10:00am. We also go for a “fun ride” every Thursday evening leaving the club at 6:00pm. Other things planned for this summer include riding in the annual Memorial Day Parade, all American Legion Riders are welcome to join us regardless of what post they belong to (ALR “Colors” must be worn). Other events planned are our annual Cider Mill Run which is held in October and a fund raising Poker Run. We will no doubt participate in runs hosted by other ALR groups as well as events centered toward veteran affairs.

As you may know, we have held our annual officers election in April and there have been a couple changes. As the founding Director of this group and serving as director for five years, I have stepped down and very happy to announce that Jack Omstead has been elected and accepted the Director position for our club. Jack has years of motorcycling experience as well as excellent people skills and will bring a different perspective to our group. Jack is also the Assistant State Captain for the Michigan Patriot Guard Riders. Please join me in welcoming Jack; I think you will find him very approachable not to mention fun to be with!!

I would also like to welcome any new members to our Post and if you have any interest in joining this group please speak with any of the officers or current members.

It has been a pleasure leading this group and I look forward to kick’in back and helping out.

MotorEZ

Andy Russell
Chaplin & Past Director
American Legion Riders #216
Milford, MI.

Feb. 2008

Hello, and Happy New Year! The Riders have been busy since our last news letter. Some of the more notable things we have been up to include the open to all Legion members Christmas Party where we supplied food and drinks at no charge to all that attended. This was the first time we have done this and we had decent attendance. We would have of course liked to see more of the total American Legion Membership take advantage of this no cost event.

We also just completed our 3rd annual Beach Party that’s open to the public as fund raiser. We had a live band, food and an open bar. This is starting to become a well known event in the area. Our attendance however was down slightly from the past two years, but we did raise funds and had a great time. I would like to thank all the ALR members that helped put this party on and also thank all who attended. This is our major fund raiser and allows use to operate and donate to other Legion backed programs.

Our riding season will soon be here and our elections are coming in March – April. Many of our officers have been in position now since the beginning in 2003. It would be great to see others get more involved.

This should prove to be a great year as we are getting better at planning rides and events as each year goes by.

As you may know, a part of the membership rules for the Riders are they must first be members of Legion, Auxiliary, and SAL members. We now have approximately 40 members, many of which are new to Post 216 and have been drawn here because if the Riders group. Several of these new members have become officers in the Legion, Auxiliary, and SAL. I’m proud to be associated with this “can do” group and welcome all current Post 216 members that would like to ride to talk to any of us if there is a interest.

MotorEZ,

Andy Russell
Director,
American Legion Riders #216

Nov 2007

The summer of 2007 will go down as one of the best Michigan summers for motorcycling. The weather was almost perfect. Our chapter is actually not as active as some of the others here in southeastern Michigan primarily because of our demographics. Most of the membership in our group is not yet retired. In short, the weekends are the only days to get other things done along with trying to get a ride in. We did however manage to get in some riding.

You may have heard something about the American Legion Riders riding from the Legion headquarters in Indianapolis to the National Convention in Reno, NV. This is the second year that the Riders have made a cross country ride. The Riders have adopted the American Legion Legacy Fund as our main focus. Last year the Riders raised over $180,000.00 during this one event! This year the Riders were challenged by the National Commander, to set a goal of $250,000.00. After the Reno convention, the Riders total amount raised was over $450,000.00 for this single event!! Moneys raised by our group during various rides and parties are also donated to this cause.

The Legacy Scholarship Fund mission is to send every child of a soldier killed in the war against terror, since Sept. 11, 2001 to College. Obviously, this is a major commitment and we need all the support we can get from our local posts.

Our next scheduled event as of now is the Annual Beach Party, which is currently scheduled for January 26, 2008.

Have a Great Holiday Season,

Andy Russell,
Director
American Legion Riders, #216