Not a day goes by at the store that we are not approached by someone asking for our help, sponsorship, participation, and donations for a myriad of charitable events. Everything from ball team fundraisers to benefits to help someone offset expenses for something and everything in between. It goes without saying that I operate a retail motorcycle dealership and not a charitable foundation, but we are blessed with the type of business that lends itself to helping with these kinds of things. We cater to a very charitable segment of society, motorcyclists. We hold events of all different sorts. While it is not our sole mission to function as philantropists, we are able to help from time to time and accomplish all of our mutual goals, to be successful in our actual business as well as be able to lend a helping hand and give back to our society. We are not always able to help with every request as they are so numerous that we simply can't, but from time to time, an opportunity to truly make a difference comes along. Enter into this picture Mrs Molly Morel and Mrs Cindy Tatum.
I've known these ladies for quite some time as customers of the store. I am also familiar with their backgrounds and the organization to which they belong. They are both members of a group called the American Gold Star Mothers. www.goldstarmoms.com Go check out the website and it will tell you all about the organization, but in a nutshell, they are all mothers that have lost children in the military while serving in active duty. The name referrences the service flags that began seeing use during the second world war. Families that had loved ones serving overseas would hang a flag in the window of their home with a blue star, one star for each member of the family that was in uniform. If a family member happened to lose their life in defense of the country, that blue star would be changed to gold, hence, "Gold Star Mothers".
Anyway.... Molly and Cindy came and saw Tommy and I back around the first of the year with an idea. They told us that their AGSM chapter was working on a fundraiser that perhaps we could help them with. They told us about the Fisher House. www.tennesseefisherhouse.org Fisher House provides free or low cost lodging to Veterans and military families while they receive treatment at military hospitals. They are very similar in a way to the Ronald McDonald houses that operate in conjunction with Childrens hospitals around the country, a charity that has directly benefited me when dealing with my son's medical conditions. 57 Fisher Houses currently serve our wounded military men and women and their families, though we learned that there was not a Fisher House in Tennessee. Well, this is where Molly and Cindy "teed up the ball". The AGSM were helping to raise money to build one in Murfreesboro, to work in conjunction with the VA hospital. Tommy and I looked at each other and the light bulbs started popping.
What has come out of these discussions is being called "A Tour of Duty", a Passport Ride benefitting the Fisher House.
Our slogan for this event is "They did their part, now let's do ours". Here's how the whole thing works. A passport ride is like a huge poker run, but you'll have about 6 weeks to complete it. Starting on Saturday, June 30, you can go to any Bumpus H-D location and sign up for the ride. All it costs to register and participate is $25. When you register, you will recieve a "Tour of Duty" T-shirt and passport. You can then get the passport stamped. Then, hop on your bike (or car, we don't care, we just want your participation) as time permits and make your way to all 4 other Bumpus H-D locations (Collierville, Memphis, Jackson, Murfreesboro, and Lynchburg) and fill the book up with all five stamps. Do all this and get the passport back to us at Bumpus H-D of Murfreesboro by August 18th. This is when we will have the final culmination of the event. All full passports will be placed into a bucket and one luck winner of a $2,500 Bumpus H-D Gift Certificate will be drawn. You need not be present to win, though you'll probably want to be there for the party. Like I said, $25 per participant is CHEAP! You get a t-shirt worth the $25 anyway, but also get a chance to win the gift card, but MOST IMPORTANTLY you'll be helping to build this home for these people whom we can never fully repay. EVERY DIME of your $25 goes to the Fisher House. We are NOT paying for the t-shirt, passports, or gift card out of this money. That's all on us, its your duty to come and support the mission.
A Tour of Duty. Kicking off this Saturday. C'mon out. I'll be on the grill flipping half-ass hotdogs again and yep, my little bucket will be hanging on the tent pole and every donation dollar I collect for free hot-dogs will go to support the Tour. Join me in doing "Our Part" because they sure as hell did theirs. PS, Mrs Cindy Tatum will be on hand in Jackson signing everyone up. Be sure to stop in and thank her for "her service" as well.
Call us at the store for any additional info at 731-422-5508 or check us out on Facebook or www.bumpushdjackson.com
Thanks and as always, Ride Safe and with purpose.
Scott
