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Guadian Knights Deliver Motorcycle to Young Cancer Patient
On Saturday July 3, 2010 the quiet of a neighborhood in West Hanover Twp. was shattered by the roar of motorcycles as the Guardian Knights came to visit Collin, a 1 1/2 year old cancer patient at his home. The Guardian Knights were there to deliver a pint sized motorcycle for this small rider. Upon their initial arrival neighbors stared and peeked out their windows uneasily at the leather clad bikers as they took all the on street parking and dismounted their bikes. It's not everyday that a dozen or so bikers roll into this neighborhood. Their concerns seemed to fade as the little motorcycle was unloaded from the SUV accompanying the riders and carried to the front door.5
Little Collin suffers from a brain tumor and just recently started his third round of chemo-therapy. The electric powered motorcycle was donated by Mike and Margaret Lamonto of the Guardian Knights to brighten the day of this resilient and brave little boy. He was also given a Harley-Davidson skull cap personalized with his name that was donated by John and Renee Forry, also members of the Guardian Knights. The group had a nice visit with Collin and his family while Collin tried on the bike for size. Even at 1 1/2 years old it only took one demonstration of how the start button worked before he was able to fire up the bike himself. It is hoped that Colllin may be able to take the motorcycle to Physical Therapy and the hospital with him to help him through the long days of treatment ahead. Everone who attended this event was touched and amazed by this young man's strength and poise. As the group was leaving, little Collin was giving "high fives" to everyone that came by to say goodbye. Please keep Collin in your prayers as he undergoes the very difficult chemotherapy treatments. It is out prayer that all will go well and that someday he will be big and strong enough to ride a real motorcycle with his new friends. You can find out more about Collin and his family and follow his progress at http://littleprinceyfellow.blogspot.com/
An Iron Butt Run is a run of 1000 miles completed in less than 24 hours and verified by the Iron Butt Association. Once completed and verified, the participant receives membership in the Iron Butt Association (IBA), a certificate recognizing the completion of the run as well as a pin and license plate backer. The "Saddle Sore 1000" is the basic Iron Butt run and must be completed to qualify to do more advanced runs. This run will qualify the rider for more advanced rides in the future. The run to Hell and back qualifies for this basic run. This year's ride is being organized by "Big John" Forry of the Guardian Knights and is open to all interested riders. A word of caution... This ride looks much easier on paper than it is to actually ride it. If you are interested in riding in this event, contact . There will be an organizational meeting or two prior to the date of the ride for those who will be participating. Second Annual GKMC Holiday Party
Both companies have supported the GKMC in monetary as well as other ways and it was decided by the membership to recognize both for their outstanding contributions. Representatives from both companies were on hand to accept these awards and the club was honored to have them as our guests at this celebration.
A voluntary gift exchange provided great humor and entertainment to wrap up the night. Once the formalities were done with, there was additional time for members to just hang out and enjoy each others company. Needless to say there were plenty of stories to share and embellish. By all accounts it was a successful night of looking back on our previous accomplishments and a look forward to the coming year.
Guardian Knights First Annual New Years Day Run
a poem by John Forry and Rick Cagno Soldiers Respond to Operation SOS Packages
Wayne T. Perkins "Guys we just received the boxes last night on a CH-47, I wanted to tell you thanks from the Outlaw Refuel team at Garry Owen. You guys are F$%^ing amazing. My god the cookies were so fresh and so damn good, I wish I could make you guys understand how that made us feel. Please pass this on." Davey Johnson "ya ya!! thank you Guardian Knights!!! " Jared Arthur "to the guardian knights, thank you for everything, u made your packages feel like its christmas everyime we get stuff from you guys, we really and truely appreciate what u guys have done and do for us." Dallas Obergfell "Thanks for all the support that you folks that work with the Guardian Knights have shown to us. It means a lot to know that some people care about the soldiers that are deployed and getting deployed. Thanks again for all you have done for us here on G/O." Dan Thompson "I also want to say thanks to the Guardian Knights for there support to all of us who are deployed. Thanks for all the time and effort put forth." SMSgt Godin of the 809 Red Horse Squadron, stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan "Thanks for the great package of home-made cookies and candy and that really nice Harley Calendar. I've been sharing the cookies and everybody has complimented them. The Harley Calendar I'm keeping for myself. I also want to thank Elizabeith Kussmieh (spelling?) for the wonderful handwritten card and poem. It was very nice and heartfelt. Please let here know one of us old guys got a little choked up reading it." CMSgt George Flick 557 Red Horse Squadron Basra, Iraq "I received the packages you sent. "Thank You" for your kindness and generosity. I will share the items with all the Airmen here at my location. I'm sure that they will enjoy them. We have a MWR tent I will put them in there for all to partake. Please pass on my "Thanks" to all the wonderful bakers that took the time to prepare the great baked goods. I've been trying to lose some weight here but I can't walk past homemade cookies without having few, they are great!!!! I know I can speak for all our Airmen at other locations and say "Thank You" for them also. I'm sure they are enjoying them too." Parents of SFC Wayne Perkins "God Bless you and many thanks from the family of SFC Wayne T. Perkins. We spoke to Wayne this afternoon and he said they received the 14 boxes that you folks sent to them and the guys were so grateful for the cookies, fudge, etc. Wayne said a lot of them had tears well up in their eyes and some of them fell to their knee's and thanked God for people like you and the motorcycle club. You are truly God's earth angels and we appreciate everything that you do for our soldiers. The guys right now are starting to lose focus and they are getting on each other's nerves. If they could get some downtime, I am sure they would be okay, but Wayne said that they do not get off of the post at all and since they are only 15 miles from the Iranian Border, half the time they do not get their one hot meal a week and they do not get their fresh water for a week at a time. We thank you so much for caring. God Bless and much love from the family of SFC Wayne T. Perkins. Please pass our appreciation on the the club members. Members of the 56th Stryker Brigade CRT 3 HHC 2/112th INF Baghdad, Iraq
"Thanks for the support I'm the soldier that got the scoot calendar. Nikki looked so pleased handing the packages out this morning standing in the back of the HWMMV, unfortunately I didn't get any pics to pass along to you but I'm sure they're on the way."
N. Baum "We got the packages! Everyone loved them! Everyone was sooo excited. I got it all on video and pics... Thank you for all the boxes! Everyone was so appreciative... You guys are soooo awesome!" SPC Brown "Dear GKMC, Thankyou so much for the package you sent! Inside was everything a girl here could ask for! The soaps, socks, body spray and everything inside were a god send. Don't worry, I shared with everyone. It is such and honor to receive a care package from your organization even though I don't ride. It would be great to meet ya'll as well. Thank you so much for your support!" SSG Downey "We received the care package you guys sent. Thank you very much. The soldiers really appreciate it ." Sgt. Fink "Guardian Knights, I am writing to you from the "wonderful" desert of Iraq. I received the package that you had sent me and wanted thank you all...It is greatly appreciated by me and all soldiers for what you all do back on the home front to support us. Thank you again!" First Annual Brothers In Need Fun Run
This years proceeds were split between a couple of Correctional Officers who were involved in an ATV accident in June. One officer was killed and the other severely injured. About 55 participants raised over $1800 while enjoying fun food and prizes and touring the Central PA area collecting their cards. The event started at Susquehanna Valley Harley-Davidson with registration beginning at 9 AM. Although the weather for the day started out questionable, by early afternoon the sun came out and it was a great day for a ride. The first participants were on the road by 9:15, with more moving out all morning right up to the cut-off time of 11:00 AM. By the 2 PM deadline all riders had returned. Lunch consisting of hamburgers, cheesebugers, hot dogs, chips and soft drinks were provided and a large array of prizes were awarded to participants. A special thanks to sponsors who provided prizes and support for the event go out to Susquehanna Harley Davidson, Lebanon Valley Cycles, Iron Valley Harley Davidson, Penn Leather, Marriot Hotels, Hooters, Perkins, Pennsy Supply, Bell Catering, Veratile, Hallows Eve Tattoo, Addicted to Detail, Peoples Bank, Giant Foods, and the members of the Guardian Knights who worked hard to make this event a success at every level. Second Annual Operation SOS Ride
Thank you to all who came out and supported our second annual Operation SOS ride. Your generous support gave us another successful event. While the day started a bit foggy and damp, it quickly turned into a beautiful day for a ride. We traveled 100 miles through the mountains and valleys of Dauphin, Schulkill and Lebanon counties, ending appropriately with a run through Fort Indiantown Gap and a picnic at Memorial Lake State Park. The ride went smoothly with only one minor issue, when a deer decided she wanted to thumb a ride from one of our participants. The result was a very surprised rider, with some minor damage to the bike. He did not lay the bike down, and swore he was OK. As I heard someone say "Thats why we say a prayer for safety". It most certainly could have been a serious situation, but thankfully was not.
The final tally of riders and bikes as near as we can tell (we forgot to assign someone to count) was just over 80. While we were prepared for more, we recognize that there were a number of worthy competing events this same day and we count this a success. Over $2000 was raised along with a huge number of donations of items to ship, and Susquehanna Valley Harley-Davidson pledged to cover our shipping costs, meaning at every dollar raised can go directly to filling boxes. In all our prior shipments, fully 1/3+ of the cost went to postage. This means every dollar raised is now worth 30 to 40 cents more. How's that for a tough economy!
We will also be keeping you apprised as we continue to ship packages. We have continued to receive both thank you's and requests from the troops even over the weekend. So we will be gearing up to make another shipment very soon. Here is video of some of the Operation SOS Packages being distributed to troops in Iraq.
Nancy and Newman of the Bob 94.9 Morning Show Promote Operation SOS Ride On Thursday 8/13/2009 Nancy and Newman of the Bob 94.9 morning show interviewed Poppa Bear and RoadKill to help promote the Operation SOS Ride. Many thanks for their support and for the support shown to our troops by Bob 94.9 and their sister stations at Clear Channel Broadcasting. Listen to the interview
Pass this one along
501(c)3 Tax Exempt Charitable Status Granted!
On February 11, 2009 the IRS granted the Guardian Knights Motorcycle Club, Inc. status as a 501(c)3 tax exempt charitable organization. This marks yet another milestone in the growth and development of the organization. As a result of the granting of this status, it will be easier to seek sponsorship for events and will allow all contributions made to Guardian Knight projects tax deductable for the donors. The Guardian Knights look forward to even bigger and better things in the coming months and years.
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A video of some of the events of the 2009 riding season was set up for all to view, including slide show presentations of the Operation SOS Ride, video of troops receiving SOS packages, a video montage of our Rolling Thunder Run and several other activites of our year. A display of a number of awards, thank yous, and commendations that were issued to the club in 2009 were also on display. For some guests this was the first opportunity to really see all that had been accomplished in one place at one time.
Following the meal, the first annual GKMC Outstanding Support Award was given to two deserving local companies for their unparalleled support of the GKMC and its programs. Susquehanna Valley Harley Davidson, and Versatile Systems Inc. were both recognized and presented with plaques honoring their contributions to the club and its efforts in 2009. 
After the Support awards, the GKMC Executive Board members where recognized by the membership and presented with plaques thanking them for their dedication and efforts in guiding the organization. This presentation came as a complete surprise to the board and they were very humbled and honored by it.
These are members of the 2-104th GSAB at FOB Garry Owen just about 15 miles from the Iranian border in Iraq.
SGT Buchheimer
On Saturday 10/10 the Guardian Knights held their first annual Brothers In Need Fun Run. This poker style run was for the benefit of the Guardian Knights Fallen Officers Fund. 
Check back soon for photos from the event. In the mean time please check out the photos taken by "