NVAO Members,
We hope you had a patriotic July 4th. We love to see all of the flags and people celebrating our freedoms.
For much of the country, it’s been a bit on the hot side. We use that as a good excuse to hop on our motorcycles and get some breeze on our faces. If you don’t ride motorcycles, you can put your head out of the window of your car and get kind of the same feeling. (Just kidding here, folks. Do not drive for long distances with your head outside your car’s open window.)
1. We have refreshed the home page of the website of the National Veterans Awareness Website by changing all four of the main photos. Roger Granbois, our Webmaster put the new photos onto our website (nvao.us) this past week and we think they look great. Attached are the new photos.
.a. The group photo was taken at the VFW Post in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The people at this Post have been providing dinner for the National Veterans Awareness Ride for twenty years. What a wonderful group of friends. They always fix a yummy meal, have a welcome environment and share our mission of remembering and respecting our veterans. We have become a family.
b. The photo of the riders and the students was taken at the Bowman School in Auburn, California. The NVAR always participates in a patriotic program in the school followed by a flag raising outside in the courtyard. We enjoy meeting the school children and planting the seeds of patriotism, remembering our veterans and giving back to the community
c. The photos of the wreath laying squad were taken at Rocky Gap Veterans Cemetery in Flintstone, Maryland. The photo that we are using on the Website is the one in which the squad is standing at attention, but we also love the shot of the squad marching to lay the wreath. We might switch those photos in a few months. The Squad Leader, Fairal Warren, let a number of riders join in on the wreath laying squad to participate in this special remembrance of those veterans who have gone before us.
d. The photo of the NVAR riders coming over the hill toward the camera is an oldie but a goodie. It evokes the feeling of organization and precision but also a feeling of celebration.
. Thanks to Robert Talbot for riding with the NVAR from Auburn to DC and for shooting some really good photos.
2. Each year, we have a wonderful stop for lunch with our friends at the Bluff City Masonic Lodge #71. This year, Mike Kyle, a member of the Lodge, gave NVAR participants a beautiful, engraved shell casing with the words: “Never Forgotten, NVAR, Ride To The Wall, 2025, Council Bluffs, IA” We have found out that some of the NVAR members didn’t get one of the bullet casing. If you send an email to jerry.d.conner@comcast.net letting me know that you’d like one, I’ll get a casing for you. Attached is a photo that I took of my casing. They’re pretty cool. If you ever need any engraving done, you can check out Mike’s work at dirtyduckengraving@gmail.com (lots of nice items in metal, wood, plastic, ceramic, stone, etc.) Again, please let me know if you didn’t get a casing from Mike.
3. In the sad news department, Larry Poffenbarger died a week ago. Larry was a proud member of the Bluff City Masonic Lodge. He was always waiting with open arms for the arrival of the National Veterans Awareness Ride. He was quick witted, a friend of all and a real patriot. Rest in peace, Larry.
4. Because several of you have moved or changed your email addresses, send an email request to jerry.d.conner@comcast.net to acquire the new contact spreadsheet.
Thats it for now, Be careful out there.
Never forget.
The NVAO Board of Directors
