Bikers4Brooke wrap up and what’s planned next...

Written June 13, 2014 10:42 pm

The Bikers 4 Brooke was another huge success. We had a about 185 bikers this year which is down from last year’s total of about 200-225. My focus is going to be trying to improve the number of riders from one year to the next. The committee talked and is considering moving the event to a Sunday to allow more working guys who ride the opportunity to come. We have some other ideas too, but too early to get into all those details.

We do however want to thank everyone involved. The amount of dedication we get from our friends is overwhelming. Sandy and Alissa put in ridiculous amounts of time and coordinate the help from everyone else. As always I can’t name everyone and there is probably no way I can remember to even mention everyone. The best part of having everyone involved is there are no egos. No one seeks recognition and is happy to help in any way they can. I think that is why Stef and I are so taken back.

There is one sad story associated with our event this year. Forest Hendrix, our BBQ man, passed away Sunday night. We came into contact with Forest last year when he heard about Brooke and her story. He said to me, “When I saw the picture of your little girl I wanted to get involved. I will be here each and every year to volunteer my time to you and your family.” You could see and feel the sincerity in his eyes and heart when he talked to you. Forest did come last year and this year completely free of charge. He brought all of his cooking equipment, including smokers, trailers, grills, coolers, and a crew of friends to work their asses off to help feed the Bikers and families. Forest and friends came as early as 6am and stayed until about 7pm. They also spent hours the previous day prepping all the food for the next day. Forest and his legion Post 261 made a donation to B4B this year. There were many Post 261 members there to support us as well. Services for Forest are at the American Legion Post this Sunday at 4pm with a repast to follow. Forest had a heart of gold and will be sorely missed.

Many of you only saw Guido and his crew where the food was being plated. They too obviously work their butts off and put in tremendous amounts of time and get much of the food donated. To quote Guido: “Forest is a huge help, I don’t know how we would have handled this without him.” I will leave you with one quote from Forest himself. I hope I get it right, but you will get the idea of the the type of guy he was. Now picture Forest (larger than life) with his southern drawl. “I don’t cook hamburgers and hotdogs. You people up north think that’s Bar-B-Que, I will show you real Bar-B-Que. If it walks, crawls, runs, or flies, I can cook it.” AND THAT HE DID!

Please check out the updated page “Who we have  Helped“.

One last word to the wise. The golf outing is filling up quick. We recently made some corporate connections that plan to scoop up the remaining spots. We would love nothing more than to have all our family and friends involved, but we can only accommodate 27 foursomes. There are about 12 left and it is a first come first serve basis, so please, if you have interest, sign up ASAP.

Thanks,

Steve