WELL, WELL, WELL....I cannot begin to convey how appreciative I am for the continued support of what I originally thought was just a day hanging with my buddies. May It Forward, presented by BONES has blown away any expectations that we started with. We have come a long way! This past Saturday was amazing. It started with a huge turnout for the Friday afternoon cruise with 45 trucks in attendance. With a casual photo stop right up the road the convoy continued for about 40 miles of scenic New England back roads until we reached our destination, the Red Apple Farm in Phillipston, MA. Great food, music, an art show and some cold beverages and comradery were consumed by all. Saturday morning comes early and when I arrived at about 7:15 it did not take long for the Bronco (and non-Bronco) family to start showing up to help were ever they could, truly a group effort! The group went about filling the multitude of goody bags as well as labeling and sorting the immense amount of raffle prizes that were on hand and so graciously donated by members and vendors near and far. The generosity of these businesses is a huge, huge push in what we are trying to do which is raise money for the Travis Mills Foundation (travismills.org) From their website:
"Post-911 veterans who have been injured in active duty or as a result of their service to our nation receive an all-inclusive, all-expenses paid, barrier-free experience in Maine where they participate in adaptive activities, bond with other veteran families and enjoy much-needed rest and relaxation in Maine’s outdoors." Lunch was to be served and all of it donated by the cooking crew! To have these kinds of people in my life is truly indescribable...true brothers to me.
After John, the Foundation representative, gave a detailed presentation of the goings on at the retreat and the progress being made it seem to kick people into "Give Mode". The raffle went off and some mighty happy people went home with some truly great prizes. At last count there was 100 Broncos and 13 states representing, please correct me if I am wrong.... Through the ten years of doing this Bones has raised over $100,000 dollars for veterans!! This is a go for next year, God willing, and will be held May 16/17th, 2025 at the PACC social club, 171 Kendall Pond Rd. West, Gardner, MA 01440. Already working on next year's event so please think about us when planning to attend events next year. Get out there and visit some of the goings on around the country....I highly doubt you will ever regret the trip and the amazing people you will meet on your journey! I want to personally thank all of the participants for the dedication and their don't care about the weather attitude. Here's to the 10th annual 2024 may It Forward!