Accomplishments
The 2004 riding season was not only a very successful
and enjoyable one for Newmarket Chapter 298 (all be it wet and unusually cool)
but a beneficial one for our community as well thanks to the relentless efforts
of many of our members. Following are just a few examples of what the Southern
Cruisers 298's can accomplish when we set our sights on making a difference !
May 15th., 2004
It was a cool (very cool) damp day but that didn't stop 30 riders from gathering at Freak-N-Leather in Keswick and riding out to Oshawa to take part in the Motorcycles for Myelin awareness ride. Organized and led by Mike Langevin, here's what it looked like as we arrived at the ride's staging area.
May 29th., 2004
Motorcycles for Myelin event day. It was sunny and a bit cool but the turn out was amazing. Over 1300 riders attended this event that included a show-n-shine, birds of prey demonstration, bands, vendors and more and more.. At the event, Newmarket Chapter 298 was awarded a certificate of thanks for our efforts in assistance, participation and support of this event and I'm sure we'll be right there in full force again on May 28th., 2005. For more information on this very worthy cause click here .
June 5th.,
2004
The first (annual ?) Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) benefit ride was hosted by Newmarket Chapter 298. MANY hours of planning by a number of our members went into this ride through planning a route and riding it several times, to promoting it within neighboring SCRC chapters, to tracing the route the day before the ride and sweeping dangerous gravel off of intersections, to getting the coffee for all our registrants on ride day. Special thanks to Bryan and Leanne for helping with the project from A to Z, Ken and Scott for assisting with the route signs and collecting prizes, Ruby for making sure we had coffee and donuts at registration and Mike for riding the entire route the day before to ensure we had safe proper roads that were in good shape with no unexpected new construction projects, scenic views and timed perfectly to keep us on schedule. Many thanks to all the prize donators and finally a HUGE thanks to Sammy and his staff at the Rock-n-Roll Diner for hosting our post ride event, and providing an excellent meal ! When all was said and done this was a MOST SUCCESSFUL effort and before we even left the OSPCA's parking lot that morning we handed them a very sizable donation which made everyone feel great and really got the day off to an excellent start !
Gavin Wright Memorial
Ride
On July 18th., 2004 Gavin Wright, who was an employee of the Rock-n-Roll diner in Newmarket which hosts a "Bike Nite" every Wednesday night throughout the riding season, tragically lost is life in a traffic accident near Barrie. The organizers of the Bike Nite approached Chapter 298 asking if we would put together a Memorial Ride to benefit Gavin's family. Of course we agreed to do everything we could to help and on August 8th., we took 54 bikes (many with passengers) on a very enjoyable ride from Newmarket through Barrie, into Orillia and back to the Diner in Newmarket. Again, much planning was done in a very short allotment of time to achieve this ride but the look on Mrs. Wright's face when she spoke prior to our departure, was worth every second. Between the combined efforts of the Diner's management & staff, Angie & Larry (the bike nite organizers), all the prize donators (one substantial donation came from a very special SCRC member who wishes to remain anonymous) and SCRC Chapter 298, the final donation to the Wright family was very impressive and more importantly very helpful to say the least. This was a very proud moment to be a member of this chapter.
Southern
Cruisers Sponsored Blood Donor Clinic
A book could be written on this event that started out one morning with Q107 & John Derringer's "tool of the day" but after a shaky start, the Southern Cruisers Newmarket Chapter achieved a TON of positive exposure including local Radio, Television and Newspaper spots. Suffice it to say now that we'll forever be in the Canadian Blood Services good books and in the end when the donor clinic closed it's doors at 9:00pm on September 14th., we had exceeded forecasted units of blood donated by approx. 30% thanks to the (in many cases firt time donors) attendance of our members.
With the 2004 Season quickly coming to
a close, and looking back on all that this chapter has accomplished
this season both within the Southern Cruisers organization and the
community we live in, we should all take pride every time we slip the vest that
displays this patch over our backs. Thank you members of Newmarket Chapter
298 for an outstanding riding season !
Mike Langevin
