Funds for ‘Veterans in need’
What started out as a plan for a small birthday celebration eventually snowballed into a fundraiser for veterans in need. In August, a few friends from the Porter area were having “special” birthdays in which they were all turning a new decade.
“There were three of us having birthdays in August and turning certain ages,” said Karri Schuler.
“We all like to ride (motorcycles) so we were thinking of something we could do with our bikes in which we could give something back to the community.”
They decided on hosting the first annual Porter Area Motorcycle Ride and raise money for local veterans. “There's not a whole lot done locally for these veterans,” Schuler noted.
“So we wanted to do our part to help.”
Schuler, Jason Schroeder, Pat and Beth Schroeder, and Seth Johnson put their heads together as organizers of the event and decided on a 176-mile ride that started in Porter and covered the towns of Clarkfield, Montevideo, Appleton, Ortonville and back to Porter.
The Motorcycle Ride group contacted the Porter American Legion No. 457 and told them about their plans so they could assist them in getting the money to the proper veterans.
“We had 48 participants and 28 bikes,” Schuler said.
“I thought it would be nice if we could get 20 participants and raise around $200. We exceeded that and everyone had a lot of fun.”
“The one thing is you have to hope and pray for good weather when you have an event like this,” Schuler said.
“And we had a great day for a ride.”
Each rider paid a certain fee to participate in the Motorcycle Ride which also included a meal and entertainment (a “DJ” was brought in for the festivities).
Along the ride, people in the aforementioned communities donated to their cause and when the smoke cleared, a check for $710 was recently presented by Dan Dybstetter of the Porter American Legion to Yellow Medicine County Service Officer Michelle Gatz.
“We're definitely going to hold it again next year,” said Schuler.
“We want to keep the money local and help out the veterans in the Porter area. We're hoping the event gets bigger and better every year.”