Vietnam Veteran's Anniversary Memorial - Milwaukee

ALRA of Wisconsin District #1 and District #4 represented the organization at the Viet Nam anniversary memorial on Saturday, April 30th at the Veterans Memorial in Milwaukee. Below are a few pictures of the event.

King Vets Home Open House Run - May 15, 2005

The ALRA of Wisconsin was invited by Fox Valley H.O.G. and American Legion Post 38 in Appleton for their Seventh Annual King Veteran's Run. Approximately 90 motorcycles participated in the ride. Below are a few photos of the event.

Armed Forces Day Ride - Milwaukee - May 21, 2005

District 1 and District 4 Riders joined forces to participate in the annual Freedom Ride in Milwaukee. The Ride went from the Harley Davidson Plant parking lot to the Coast Guard facility on Lake Michigan. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Rolling Thunder XVIII

Some of the members from ALRA of Wisconsin visited Washington DC again this year to participate in Rolling Thunder XVIII. It certainly was a great day for a ride...with hundreds of thousands of other motorcyclists. Pictured below are a few of our members at the Pentagon parking lot prior to leaving for the ride.

Wreath Laying Ceremony at Tomb of Unknown Soldier

Four honored members of the American Legion Riders participated at a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the Memorial Day activities in Washington D.C. on Saturday, May 28, 2005. The four representatives were Bill Kaledas (Michigan 396), Chuck Dare (Texas 42), Roy Helms (Wisconsin 70) and Terry Woodburn (Illinois 624). The members of ALRA of Wisconsin felt very honored and proud to have State President Roy Helms representing our organization. Below are a couple pictures of the ceremony.

ALRA of Wisconsin's Annual Fundraiser - June 18th

The ALRA of WI wishes to thank ALRA of WI member, Bob Lane, Post 47 - Portage and the Full Throttle for sponsoring the third annual fundraiser for Camp American Legion. In addition, another thank you Bala's Harley Davidson of Mauston for sponsoring the ride. The pancake breakfast was great...that was a great griddle! A special thankyou to all the stops along the run. Last but not least, all those that participated in this year's event. A total of 35 bikes and 48 people participated. The final count isn't in, but I think we surpassed the previous two year's contributions that will be used for Camp American Legion. Great job everyone! Below are just a few pictures of the day.

King Veteran's Home Pilgrimage - June 19th

Some of the members of the ALRA of Wisconsin ventured off to King Veteran's Home on Father's Day to celebrate with the residents. They also participated in the traditional parade that takes place there annually. Every year at the Open House in May, the ALRA members take time to have a photo opportunity with one of the residents. This year they presented that photo to that resident at this visit. Below are a few photos of the visit to King Veteran's Home.

July 4th Activities

Districts 1 & 4 got together for the July 4th parade in New Berlin. Below are a couple photos. Catch Irish Pat's new paint job...awsome! Participating in the parade are Mal, Kurt, Curtiss, Scott, Irish Pat & Alamo.

Great Lakes Romp

The ALRA of Wisconsin had great representation at the Great Lakes Romp in Fowlerville, Mighigan this year. There were aproximately 350 in attendance at this year's romp. There will be more to come, but here are just a couple photos. The group, Roy, Nancy, Richard, Bob, Noi and Jack stopped for a photo opportunity across the Mackinac Bridge after a windy crossing. P.R., Jan, Godfather and Eileen also attended this year's event.

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Toy Run - Saturday, July 9th

Members from ALRA of WI Districts 1 and 4 participated in the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Toy Run. Here are a couple photos of that run.

Bristol Days Parade - Sunday, July 10th

ALRA of WI members from District 1 particiated in the Bristol Progress Days Parade. Below are a few photos of the event. It was a HOT day! Staging under the tree was a GOOD thing!

432nd Civil Affair Battalion Ride - Saturday, July 23rd

The ALRA of Wisconsin participated in the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion's Family Readiness Group Memorial Ride out of Green Bay. Proceeds from this ride went to the Nicole Frye Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The Freedom Fighter Bike also participated on the ride. A few pictures of the bike are also below.

Lao - Hmong Recognition Day - Saturday, July 23rd

ALRA of WI members from Districts 1 and 4 participated at Timmerman Field in Milwaukee. Below are a few photos of that event. Oh yes, for the record, this was the shortest parade the ALRA of WI has participated in thus far....about one block!

Horicon Marsh Days Parade - Sunday, July 24th

The ALRA of Wisconsin participated in this year's Horicon Marsh Days Parade. Even though it was a very warm and humid day, the members (and bikes) held up. We were very honored to have Tracy Gest, Miss Wisconsin 2005 allow us a photo opportunity with her. Godfather is just elated that we used his bike as the focal point for the photo. He'll probably never wash it again! Below are a couple pictures of that event.

Iron Ridge Parade - Sunday, August 14th

The ALRA of Wisconsin participated in this year's Iron Ridge Parade. We were honored to have Elaine Fitz, a local Gold Star Mother, ride along with us in the parade. Below are some photos of the event.

ALRA Mini Chopper at Milwaukee Harley - August 27, 2005

Members from ALRA of WI District 1 and District 4 helped to sell raffle tickets for our annual fundraiser at Milwaukee Harley. Below are a couple photo opportunities the members had with some lovely ladies. Some of these lovely ladies participated in a bikini bike wash. It was rumored that one of our members from District 4 got his bike washed seven times! Go figure! A successful day was had by both the bike wash and the mini chopper raffle. Just a reminder to buy your tickets from any ALRA of WI member. The bike will be raffled off October 29th in Oshkosh at Post 70.

Win a Mini Chopper! ALRA of Wisconsin Fundraiser

The ALRA of Wisconsin is raffling off a mini-chopper this year. It's a darn nice looking bike when you have your first look at it, but upon further inspection, you can see that this is not an adult bike, but one perhaps your kids or grandkids could enjoy. The motocycle is not street legal, but would be fun off-road. It is powered by a 6 horse Tecumseh engine with a great exhaust. It also comes with a custom trailer as show in the last picture below.

We wish to thank the ALRA of Wisconsin District 11 (Eagle River area) for donating this bike to the ALRA of Wisconsin.

Other raffle prizes are a combination shotgun (.410) and rifle and four cash prizes - $100, $50, and two $25.

Tickets are on sale and can be purchased from a number of ALRA of WI members throughout Wisconsin. Ticket costs are $5.00 each or five for $20.00. Please help out our cause by purchasing a ticket...or five. You could potentially make one child happy with this.

Richfield Parade - August 28, 2005

The ALRA was invited to participate in the Richfield parade. Below are a couple photos of the members participating in the parade.

Ride to the Wall - Racine - September 10, 2005

Members from District 1 participated in the Ride to the Wall in Racine on Saturday evening. In addition to participating in the ride to the Wall, members were requested to participate in the laying of roses in front of each panel of the Wall containing the name of a hero from the Racine/Kenosha area.....84 in all, the Rider's didn't have a dry eye during this very moving ceremony.

Salute to Our Troops V Parade - September 11, 2005

The ALRA of Wisconsin sponsored the fifth annual Salute to Our Troops parade in Oshkosh on Sunday, September 11, 2005 to pay tribute to not only those lives that were lost or affected in the horrible tragedy on 9/11 but to honor those that have sacrificed their lives in the current conflicts and those that are currently serving our country today. We had respresentation from law enforcement, fire, EMS, private military vehicle owners and numerous motorcycle organizations. In addition, we had a local soldier home on leave from Iraq that participated in the parade. Our American Legion State Commander, Teddy Duckworth, also participated. One of our ALRA members, Scott, is shown below proudly riding his "9/11" tribute theme bike in the parade. The event ended at Post 70 in Oshkosh, where they hosted a little lunch and program.

The Wall That Heals - October 6 - 9, 2005

The ALRA of WI was very honored to be a part of the escort of The Wall from Kenosha to Brownsville on October 4th. Below are a few photos of all who attended that event. A sincere thanks to everyone who participated. A special thanks to the Wisconsin State Troopers who led the escort and to the members of the Vietnam Vets MC who particiated.

On Saturday, October 8th, Bob's Harley Davidson sponsored a memorial ride from his shop in Fond du Lac to Brownsville where The Wall was set up. Over 200 motorcycles participated in the event. The American Legion Riders lead the "mission" to Brownsville. Below are a few photos of the event.

On Sunday, October 9th, eight of ten Gold Star Mothers requested to be given a motorcycle ride past The Wall in a ceremony commemorating the Gold Star Mother's program and to pay tribute to their sons and husband for the sacrifice they made for this great country. They were then escorted to The Wall to place a rose at their respective panel. In addition, two of the Gold Star Mothers, one who lost her son in the USS Cole incident and the other in Desert Storm, laid a rose at a memorial wreath.

Winner of the Mini Chopper Raffle

The ALRA held their fundraiser raffle drawing at "Vegas Night" at Post 70 in Oshkosh on October 29th. The winner of the mini chopper was Ed Lamb from Three Lakes. The shotgun/rifle combination went to William Jourdan of Neenah. The cash prizes went to Ricki Shubert, Mike Parke, Art Van Asten and Jim Hastings. Below is a photo of Ed and his new scooter.

Veterans Day Parade - Milwaukee - November 5, 2005

The ALRA of WI participated in this year's Veterans Day Parade in Milwaukee. We were honored again this year to have Gold Star family members ride in the parade with us, a wonderful group one and all.

VA Hospital Visit During Holidays

On December 21st Riders from Districts 4 and 1 visited the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center and passed out a little Christmas cheer, some Harley T-Shirts (thanks Curtiss), a bunch of candy, and a whole lot of thank you's. It was a great experience for all involved and plans are underway to do it again next year.