NVAO Members,
The NVAR Reunion in Colorado Springs over the Labor Day weekend was filled with lots of laughs, a few joyful tears and memories that will last a lifetime.
a. Sandy and Ed Kintzele, who had previously announced their retirement from many years of service to the National Veterans Awareness Rides, were awarded a “Thank You” plaque and were showered with words of appreciation by everyone present. Debi Crawford has taken over (from Sandy) the title of NVAR Motel Manager and has begun setting up the blocks of rooms that are required for the annual NVAR. It’s a big job that Debi volunteered for. Thank you, Debi. For the past few years, Kat and Mike Tipton (with help from Paula Williams) have been taking over the Chase Truck responsibilities from Ed and Sandy. This is another huge job, helping riders whose bodies or bikes break down during the NVAR and managing the merchandise that we award to Veterans in VA Homes and Hospitals plus the shirts, hats, etc. that are sold along the ride.
Our sincere thanks to Sandy and Ed for the many years that they have spent making the NVAR a better and better experience. And, of course, to our friends who have stepped forward to taken on the responsibilities that were handled by the Kintzeles.
We are proud and happy to announce that Dave Clemmons has been elected to the NVAO Board of Directors to replace Ed Kintzele. Welcome, Dave.
b.A wonderful treat at the reunion was the participation of Kent Wilson. Kent was instrumental as a leader of the group who founded the National Veterans Awareness Ride, some twenty years ago. Although Kent doesn’t ride his motorcycle cross country anymore, he loves the NVAR and provided some good ideas for the future success of our organization. Also, as shown in the attached photos, Kent turned out to be a semi-pro ax thrower as he nailed a bullseye while at the Flying W Ranch ax throwing activity.
c. A big thank you to Steve “Babyface” Wiseman for organizing the weekend’s activities. He correctly commented that keeping everything running smoothly, is akin to herding cats. But, everything turned out perfectly. Everyone had a great time, renewing friendships and enjoying the activities.
d. The fun started at The Local Table, a restaurant that took up half the restaurant setting, up enough tables for us. The only folks who were missing that night were Tony Ivins, Fred Corcoran and Ed Norton, our friends from California, who had a tough day of riding and chose to head straight to bed.
e. The next morning, we visited Dragonman’s Military Museum and were given a tour by the Dragon Man himself. He claims that his museum is the largest private military museum in the world. And after seeing it, we have no reason to doubt him. Attached are a couple photos of the museum. It’s impossible to capture the immense collection of items but the photos share a glimpse.
f. Lunch was at The Airplane Restaurant. Good food amid a huge collection of airplane memorabilia.
g. In the evening, we visited the Flying W Ranch for dinner and entertainment. Before dinner, we explored the ranch and enjoyed, trying our hand at tossing a lasso, throwing an ax, petting ranch animals, and watching Native American dancing. After dinner, we had an enjoyable hour of western music and comedy.
Attached are a few photos taken during the terrific weekend. If any of the reunion attendees have any photos that are really fun, send them to jerry.d.conner@comcast.net and maybe we’ll share them in another NVAO Update.
Status of the 2025 NVAR: Debi is finishing up the blocks of motel rooms (we’ll send out an email when you’re able to get your reservations. As in previous years, the motel information will be on the NVAO website (nvao.us). Over the coming months, we’ll be working with the State Coordinators finalizing the ride schedule from Auburn, CA to Washington, DC.
That’s it for now.
Be Careful out there.
The NVAO Board of Directors
