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Blue Knights preparing for annual Iron Butt Run
Law enforcement motorcycle club raising
awareness, raising funds for the Gingerbread House
By BITTY REILLY
Daily Light staff writer
Published:
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 5:01 PM CDT
To benefit the Gingerbread House children’s
advocacy center, the Blue Knights are pledging a 1,500-mile
motorcycle drive.
The Blue Knights Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club of Texas XXI
chapter will host its fifth annual Bonnie Reeves Memorial Iron
Butt Run on July 19 and 20. The group, from the local Waxahachie
chapter, is raising money for the children’s advocacy center.
“(Riders) have to make it in 36 hours,” said Bill Hudgins,
Colleyville Police Department community service officer and
chapter vice president.
Kenneth Reeves, chapter president, said the riders were
considering making this year’s ride 2,000 miles and will know
following this week’s meeting.
“We will start in Waxahachie and travel to Peoria, Ill., leaving
around midnight,” Reeves said. “Those are long rides, but it is
worth it to benefit the children’s advocacy center. Over the
last five years, we've donated about $33,000 to them to help
them with their service.”
Reeves said the general public can sponsor a specific rider or
the group by making donations like a penny a mile. The
motorcyclists pay for their own gas. Higher gas prices will
affect the ride this year and they may not have as many involved
as usual.
“It’s kind of an expensive ride for those who do it, but it’s
what we do to generate the funds,” he said. “We just have to
grit our teeth and go for it. Of donations, 100 percent goes to
the center, so it will cost a couple hundred for each officer to
make the trip.”
The law enforcement personnel are committed to helping the
center and care about the cause.
“Last year, it went real smooth. We had experienced riders and
we made such good time we were able to get six hours sleep,”
Reeves said. “The key is to keep moving. We don't have to drive
fast and can be safe.”
Reeves said during the first year riders went through every kind
of weather, from extreme cold up to 100 degrees in West Texas to
hail and rain.
“We couldn't see some of the riders and one of the riders from
Ennis was blown right off the road,” he said. “And that was our
first year, but we didn't have enough sense to quit. It took us
23 hours and 45 minutes for the 24-hour ride.”
There are many Iron Butt rides that Blue Knights can take
advantage of and, last month, Larry Green and Ken Fuquay made a
ride from Duncanville to Emmitsburg, MD. While there, they
attended a police supervising school and gathered donations and
generated $1,000 for 1,500 miles.
To sponsor an individual rider or the group, contact Reeves at
972-935-1491, e-mail
blueknightstx21@aol.com or visit the Web site at
www.blueknightstx21.org.
To learn more about the Iron Butt Association, visit the Web
site at
www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm.
E-mail Bitty at
bitty.reilly@wninews.com
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