We all need somebody to lean on

By: Dani Medin

 

Let’s kick off Biketoberfest one weekend early. 

The 17th Annual Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Harley-Davidson Ride for Children is Sunday, October 9, 2011. The ride departs at 10:00 a.m. from Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach, Florida. This annual motorcycle ride raises money and awareness for Camp Boggy Creek.

The mission of Camp Boggy Creek is to enrich the lives of children who have chronic or life threatening illnesses by creating camping experiences that are memorable, exciting, fun, empowering, physically safe and medically sound. Camp Boggy Creek is a state of the art, year round facility that provides traditional camping experiences for children age seven to 16 suffering from chronic and life threatening illnesses. Since opening in 1996 over 50,000 seriously ill campers and their family members will have come through our gates to find the magic. During week long summer sessions and family weekends, campers of like illness are provided with respite and recreation while their families receive support to help deal with the catastrophic situations of having a seriously ill child. One camper says, “Camp Boggy Creek is about healing the scars on the inside.”

Sarah F. Gurtis, Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Development, had the great pleasure of introducing Camp Boggy Creek to Bruce Rossmeyer in April of 1995.

“Even though Camp was not yet open, he embraced the concept”, said Gurtis.

We take the gift of life for granted even though we are all well aware tomorrow is not promised or guaranteed. Camp Boggy Creek is a camp Bruce Rossmeyer loved and he knew it made a difference in the lives of ill children. These children might be in your own home, family, community or even hundreds of miles away.

“Bruce was the catalyst and energy behind the Ride in every possible way. He was not a man who did things half way. If he was “in” he was “all in.”  The Camp welcomed its first campers in the summer of 1996. Once Bruce was able to see the impact of this incredible place on these sick kids the Ride became very personal for him as a way to leverage all of his business acumen and relationships toward changing the lives of campers and their families. If you were a “FOB” (friend of Bruce) it was highly likely that you’d be involved in his Ride for Children as well.  The whole family became involved over the years and it is now their own commitment that continues to take the Ride forward as the Camp’s largest fundraiser each year,” Gurtis explained.

Before Rossmeyer’s passing in 2009, he challenged himself to hit the one million mark in the tenth year of the Ride. Not only did he meet that goal but he exceeded it. Through the 2010 Ride, nearly four million dollars has been raised.

The Ride for Children is known for past famous Grand Marshals. This year the Grand Marshals are Chris Fillmore, Richie Morris Racing (RMR) Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing Revolution Performance professional road racer. Fillmore won the 2011 AMA Pro Vance and Hines XR1200 championship. Mark Boone Jr., actor in the TV show “Sons of Anarchy”. Will Barclay, winner of the 2011 Hoka Hey Challenge. Radio personalities for Monsters of the Morning from Real Radio and WHOG’s Frank Scott.

New VIP rider package is also available this year which includes admission to the pre-event festivities on Saturday, October 8, 2011. The regular ride package is a $50.00 donation. An additional passenger is a $50.00 donation. Riders receive the 17th annual ride T-shirt, Police escorted ride to Camp Boggy Creek and steak lunch from Outback Steakhouse. Live entertainment, live and silent auctions, raffle drawing and tours will all take place at Camp Boggy Creek. Free Coca-Cola products, Miller Beer and Newman Lemonade are also provided. All motorcycles are welcome. The ride will go on in the rain or shine.

There is no charge to attend Camp Boggy Creek and it is funded solely by donations. If you cannot go, please donate in honor or memory of a loved one. This was the dream Bruce Rossmeyer left for all of us to accomplish together. Donate in memory of him.

Follow the event on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BruceRossmeyerRideforChildren?ref=ts&sk=info and help Camp Boggy Creek receive more donations. Spread the word by posting about the Ride for Children as your status.

For more information about the ride, to donate or register, please call 954-647-3125 or visit the website www.rideforchildren.com. For more details and information on Camp Boggy Creek go online to www.boggycreek.org.

We all need somebody to lean on. Thanks Bruce Rossmeyer for sharing your love for children and helping others with all of us. Ride on.

Note from the writer:

If you donate please send me an email at dani@danimedin.com. I would love to hear from you. Thank you for helping these children who deserve to feel like healthy, normal kids. So many of us take life for granted.  God bless, Dani

 

This entry was posted on Friday, October 7th, 2011 at 7:36 pm. It is filed under BLEND, FEATURES, MOTO, SNOWMOBILING and tagged with . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.