fundraising

Triumph Over Tragedy For Local Motorcycle Company

by Kelly Wise Valdes from https://www.ospreyobserver.com Jared Weems from Riverview is no stranger to adversity. But, as Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” No one knows this better than Weems. The 42-year-old is from a fourth-generation vintage motorcycle enthusiast family. He explained that the passion for all things involving vintage British motorcycles runs in his blood. Weems was born in Tampa, but ultimately he was raised for the majority of his life in South Tennessee. After high school, he returned to the Tampa area and eventually joined the Army in 2003. He proudly served his country in Special Ops and spent a majority of his military time parachuting from airplanes. It was during this time that he married his wife, Breanne, and they had two children—a son, Austin, 13, and a daughter, Adelaide, 11. After the onset of some health issues, Weems was medically discharged from the Army in 2018 and moved to Riverview. Unfortunately, his health issues proved to be serious and he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that caused seizures. It was at this time that he hit a low point in his life. “I sold my motorcycles and was unsure where my life was headed,” said Weems. A pivotal moment took place when a friend came to visit and brought a painting from a famous artist, David Mann. Mann’s work mostly featured Harley Davidson bikes and his paintings were published regularly in Easyriders magazine for more than 20 years. During his lifetime, Mann painted only two pictures of a Triumph bike, and Weems was holding one of those pictures. “I wanted to build the Triumph bike that Mann had painted,” said Weems. “The painting was something of Mann’s creation—it wasn’t a bike that ever really existed.” Weems was motivated by his new […]

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Polaris Off Road and Diesel Brothers Support America’s First Responders

Polaris Off Road and Diesel Brothers Support America’s First Responders Through United We Ride Custom-Vehicle Program Polaris Off Road, the world leader in powersports and off-road innovation, today announced United We Ride – a partnership and fundraising effort with the Diesel Brothers that honors our nation’s military, police and fire departments. The program is highlighted by a Diesel Brothers’ customized series of recently launched Polaris machines. Each machine has been custom-made to honor a specific branch of American “first responders” – the RZR PRO XP Ultimate for policemen and policewomen, the RANGER CREW XP 1000 for firemen and firewomen, and the GENERAL XP 4 1000 for members of the U.S. military. Polaris United We Ride custom U.S. military, law enforcement and first responder machines. (Photo: Business Wire) The program is powered by a national voting process where consumers vote for their favorite build, and voting totals determine the donation amount from Polaris to each of the program’s three charity beneficiaries – $25,000 to first place, $15,000 to second and $10,000 to third place. By casting their vote, consumers are automatically entered for the chance to win an all-new RANGER CREW XP 1000 with Ride Command, RZR PRO XP Ultimate or a GENERAL XP 4 1000 DELUXE. “We are forever grateful for the commitment and sacrifice made by members of our military and first responders, and we are proud to continue our 15-year tradition of providing vehicles for their duties and their well-deserved free time,” said Kyle Duea, vice president of Off-Road Vehicle Marketing, Polaris. “Partnering with the Diesel Brothers to customize our machines and drive awareness of these charities is merely one way we can show our appreciation, while honoring their daily efforts to protect us, our communities and our freedom.” The United We Ride program will be donating to

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Dallas Harley Owners Group hosts quilt raffle, toy drive

by Kim Everett from https://thegarlandtexan.com The Dallas Harley Owners Group, founded in the mid-1980s, is involved in numerous charitable and fundraising activities. One of the main events is the MotorCops for Kids Toy Run. The owners’ group, the Dallas Harley Davidson dealership and the Garland and Grand Prairie Police Departments work together, with help from the Shriners, to host the event. In conjunction with the toy run, the group holds a quilt raffle and the money from raffle tickets, along with registration fees paid by toy run participants, are donated to Shriners Hospitals for Children – Galveston. Event participants also bring toys that are distributed to local children. The group’s hard work has enabled them to donate $400,000 to the hospital and donate countless toys to children. The late Jerry Patterson and Steve Dye, Grand Prairie police chief, were the two principal founders of the toy run. Patterson, along with his wife, Viola, was involved in getting the charitable programs started. She said that his passion was helping kids. This year’s quilt is the result of 280 hours of work. All of the quilts are made with Harley Davidson bandanas collected from around the world by club members and their friends and families. The design is chosen in February, the quilt is constructed, and the hand-quilting begins in the spring. Julie Steger is the principal designer and constructor. They start early so they can enter their creation in the group quilting category competition at the State Fair of Texas. They have won first place as well as four third-place ribbons. Gloria Barnes, Angela Kennerly, Viola Patterson, Wendy Yeater and Steger are the principle quilters, but a large number of people from all age groups join in the quilting, even if it was just to put in a stitch or two.

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