Last chance for St. Jude items........................

[DragonRider]

​It is disappointing that the economy has affected everyone. So much that for the last three Vogel rallies attendance has been lower and lower each time we put one on. This year the attendance was a whopping 19 attendee's. Out of that number we only had 6 bikes that made it to the final day. We had a great time but with lower attendance comes a smaller amount of money to be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Our total so far for this year is just a few dollars more than our very first donation, which was $500.00. And that amount was collected with 4 times as many people as this years event. The people that attended this year were very generous with their donations and I think that speaks volumes as to the mind set we have for the "Kids" at St. Jude. So with that being said the auctions that are up now in the classified section will be your last chance to get a Cruisin' for St. Jude t-shirt or patch. Right now I have 16 auctions up for shirts, patches, and a RSV backrest by Diamond R.and only 2 items have been bid on so far. The auctions will end on Sept.14, 2017. I will still have some left after these auctions end and I will not put them up on auction. I will come up with another way to distribute them and try to collect more donations for the "Kids".

 

On another note, we normally have a ride in late Sept, or first week of Oct to meet up in Memphis and ride to St. Jude as a group to present our donation and have a tour of this awesome facility. If you haven't been this will likely be your last chance to make that ride. Some people say its depressing to tour the hospital, but ask others who have been and they will tell you its an emotional journey like no other. To see what Danny Thomas has done for these unfortunate children that contract this awful disease. You will come away awed by what you see and what you learn about this "hospital". I wish there was another word to replace that, because most people detest hospitals whether they are in it or just visiting. The smells and atmosphere that you find in most hospitals don't exist at St. Jude. If you were blindfolded and taken into the heart of this facility and not told where you were and asked to guess what it was you would not even think of it as a hospital. You wont see sickly looking people there, but what you will see are kids undergoing treatment to save their lives and they still have smiles on thier faces. It's a happy place for them, they know they are getting the best care and loving attention, and the staff goes out of their way to make sure they are taken care of. I have been there 6 times, touring the hospital 5 times and The Ronald McDonald house once. Last year our donation was small also and didnt get much interest in the ride so I mailed the donation in. So this year if there is enuff interest in a ride I will contact St. Jude and see if we can schedule a ride and tour there on short notice. Therefore I need input from you the members as to whether we ride and tour or mail our donation in.

 

So please, if you are interested in going please acknowledge that in this thread. I need to know by Sept. 16th.

 

Below are pictures of one of the patients we had the honor of meeting 6 years ago while on a tour. His name is Brayden Shields and he is pictured here sitting on his brothers lap. The other picture is Brayden today, he has undergone over 20 surgeries to his eyes. He is quite the trooper, you wont find many pictures of him where he isn't smiling or having fun like any normal kid, except he is far from normal, he is constantly making trips to St.Jude for treatment and surgeries. This young man is my hero, he has tolerated for more than anyone that I know of and still puts a smile on my face every time I see his picture. This is what your money does for not only Brayden, but all the patients that go to St. Jude for treatment.

 

I want to thank everyone who has supported our efforts to help St. Jude. Remember, It's all about the "KIDS"!!!!

[RDawson]

This an awesome cause. Childhood cancer has shown it's ugly head in my family. My niece was treated there and is doing great. Now her cousin on her mom's side has it, both families are participating in a family study to see if there's a genetic link previously unknown. I have ran in the marathon weekend (5K only), my daughter has run that and the half marathon and headed the St. Jude fundraising at college raising thousands. I bid on a shirt and am guessing this works like Ebay increasing bids automatically. I will send the full bid no matter the end price. I am definitely interested in the St Jude ride if I can get there, my Saturdays in Sept and Oct are pretty well booked. I am 3-4 hours north of Memphis and will try to meet you there. If anybody reading this has never been there it is a life changing tour to take. We take so much for granted in our everyday lives that places like this make you think about priorities. Hope to see you in Memphis. DragonRider I don't know your history with St Jude but let me say thank you for your support to them.

[videoarizona]

Lewis, First, thank you for doing this.

 

Second...come on people. I know the economy is not the best right now, and we all have problems we are dealing with, but surely you can spare $20 bux or so for the kids. That's not much, really! And more is so much better.

 

So try and come up with some spare bux!

 

And I wish I could be there. We are about to enter our prime riding season here in Arizona....and I'm itching for a long ride.... But I'm off to Portland to visit my sister for the last week in September.

Again, thanks for doing this. Don't give up.....let's keep this going.

[RDawson]

Lewis, First, thank you for doing this.

 

Second...come on people. I know the economy is not the best right now, and we all have problems we are dealing with, but surely you can spare $20 bux or so for the kids. That's not much, really! And more is so much better.

 

So try and come up with some spare bux!

 

And I wish I could be there. We are about to enter our prime riding season here in Arizona....and I'm itching for a long ride.... But I'm off to Portland to visit my sister for the last week in September.

Again, thanks for doing this. Don't give up.....let's keep this going.

 

I'm with you. How did you get your bid to show full amount instead of a quarter?

[videoarizona]

I'm with you. How did you get your bid to show full amount instead of a quarter?

 

Don't know.....

 

I did 2 bids. 1st one was a mistake, so I re-bid...and didn't put in the max amount.....

[Freebird]

It's an auction folks. When you bid, it only increases in an amount to exceed the previous bid. Then it will automatically increase your bid up to the max amount that you submitted. People have to bid against each other to get the prices up.

[bongobobny]

So, based on what Don just said, get in there and jack up someone else's bid!! I just did...

[RDawson]

So, based on what Don just said, get in there and jack up someone else's bid!! I just did...

 

Ha. I jacked my own up. I looked cheap with that first bid showing as a quarter.