A local chapter of motorcycle riders for the American Legion will hold its introductory meeting this weekend at the legion on U.S. 22 in Washington Court House.
The American Legion Post 25 has always helped the community with fundraising, using the building for events and providing a place for veterans to come together. The legion has hosted monthly breakfasts with the Fayette County Veterans Service Officer, Amy Jackson, and has allowed groups such as the Washington Shrine Club hold many events from dinners to a baseball forum.
One of the more famous uses of the American Legion has been the annual Kids Christmas Party that invites many local students to come and enjoy a lunch, a special guest entertainer, as well as receive a Christmas present and useful items that can keep them warm throughout winter. The American Legion does not shy away from helping the community and with this idea in mind, they will be adding a new group for its members.
The first meeting of the local American Legion Riders (ALR) will be held Sunday at 1 p.m. The group is a branch of the national rider organization that encourages motorcycle enthusiasts to become more than just avid bike riders, but also to help and promote community and national fundraising efforts.
According to the American Legion website – legion.org – in 1993 at Garden City, Mich., two longtime riders wanted to introduce an association that would allow American Legion “family members” the opportunity to come together and share their love for motorcycles. Chuck “Tramp” Dare and Bill “Polka” Kaledas, commander of American Legion Post 396, were the two that shared the idea to start this motorcycle enthusiasts’ association within the organization.
“Joined by 19 other founding members from their post, Dare and Kaledas were flooded with requests for information about their organization,” the website reads. “They agreed to establish a central source for the Riders to ensure that chapters formed not as motorcycle clubs or gangs, but as Legionnaires and Auxiliary and SAL members joining to ride as Legion family.”
Since its inception, ALR chapters have helped at annual regional rides such as Operation Wounded Warrior, have joined with local charities to increase fundraising, have raised money for VA hospitals, have rode to honor fallen soldiers and has helped in escorting military units to departure airfields and airports for combat tours overseas.
For more information on how to join this new group of riders, call the American Legion at (740) 335-4990.
