BRAT FRY REPORT:

For the second year in a row, we held our Brat Fry at the Pick'n Save in Saukville. So far, we're batting a thousand for seasonally soggy weather days to have this event. Upper '40's, windy and rain throughout the day made for less than ideal conditions. I swear that I wouldn't know what to do if we ever got sunshine for one of these events. Somehow, we've got to find an available July or August day to do this next year. If you can think of a good location for next year's brat fry, let me know, because we may need to find a different site due to major road construction in Saukville in 2011.

Despite the poor weather conditions, we were much better organized this year with a good turnout of over fifteen members including our newest applicant for membership. We had bikes with flags, signs, and our own special recipe for stewing the brats and burgers. Everyone commented on how hot and tasty the food was, and we sold a boatload full. As a result of everyone's efforts, after expenses, we pulled in over $500 in sales and another $300 in donations for a total of just over $800. Well done and thanks to everyone for your help in the project. Lots of willing hands made for a good time despite the adverse conditions.

SECOND DISTRICT LEGION CONFERENCE REPORT:

The American Legion held its spring conference on Sunday, April 25th in Horicon. I reported on District Two Legion Rider activities including the Mid-Winter Social, ALRA Awards Banquet (including our award winners), our donation to the Honor Flight for WWII veterans, the Brat Fry, upcoming parades and the planned VA Day Care picnic. I also briefed the District on our new parade policy of supporting a single parade with all available Riders, which was well-received by the members. We had seven Riders present at the conference, which is a great turnout and makes us very visible and recognizable to the other members of the Legion.

We continue to receive outstanding support from the members of our Legion District. As you may recall, last fall, I showed District Conference attendees the video from our VA Picnic. This year I asked the District for their continued support and they voted a generous donation of $250 to assist us in funding the picnic. As a result of that donation and our Brat Fry proceeds, we are on budget for this year's picnic. I have confirmed the Picnic dates and menu with our caterer, and we sent our deposit in to secure the date. Our caterer has held to last year's price for the event despite a general price increase for his services, so we are grateful for that. Please make sure you also thank your Post representatives to the conference for their financial support.'

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS:

Second District now has 38 members. I have begun mailing out 2010 renewal forms. For renewals I do not need a copy of your DL. Just send me the completed renewal form, a check for $30 made out to District 2 ALRA and a copy of your paper (not the plastic PUFL) 2010 or 2011 membership Legion card. Please send the renewals to me and not to the State address in Kaukauna - that just slows the process down because we have to process it at the District level first.

2010 MEETING SCHEDULE

NEXT DISTRICT MEETING: Saturday, June 5, 2010 in Mequon at Post 457.
This is the day for biennial election of District Officers for 2010 - 2012. Your vote counts!

Meetings are open to any Veteran!

UPCOMING EVENTS:
For the latest update on events, always check the State ALRA Event Calendar for the latest update on events.

1. 2nd District Rider's Departure for Appleton: 10:00 a.m., Saturday, May 1st, at Post 457, Mequon. A quick 15 minute meeting in the parking lot, then we depart for the ALRA State Quarterly meeting in Appleton. Depart Post 457 at 10:15 a.m., picking up strays at the Allenton Park-N-Ride at 10:50 a.m. Unless you hear otherwise, this trip is in cages, not on the bikes due to another weekend forecast of soggy, rainy, springtime Wisconsin weather. If we get a magical clearing enough to make a bike trip worthwhile, I'll send an e-mail Friday evening that scooter riding is back in fashion. If you want a lift, I've got seats for 3 adults and 1 midget available. Let me know if you want a ride.

2. ALRA State Quarterly Meeting: Saturday May 1st. in Appleton, time 1:00 p.m. The meeting is being held at the American Legion Post 38 in Appleton. Lunch will be available prior to the meeting starting around 12 noon.

3. Armed Forces Day Ride: Saturday, May 15th. Stage at the Navy/Marine Corps Reserve Center on Lincoln Memorial Drive @ 10:00  a.m., Ride / Parade to the Harley Museum. District 2 will depart Post 457 - Mequon at 9:30 a.m. en route the parade.

4. Memorial Day Parades: Monday, May 31st. Multiple Locations - (Cedarburg (stage 8:30 a.m.), Mequon-Thiensville (stage 9:30a.m.). We're going to stage at the Cedarburg parade and then go directly from the parade to Thiensville to join them just before their parade kicks off. Following the Mequon-Thiensville Parade and brief memorial service at City Hall, a complimentary lunch is served at Post 457. Any other Districts are welcome to attend.

5. 2nd District Rider's Monthly Meeting: 10:00 a.m., Saturday, June 5th, at Post 457, Mequon. This meeting will be Election of Officers Day and for discussion of Legacy Run and ROMP details.

6. Appleton Flag Day Parade: Saturday, June 12th, departing from Post 457 about 10:00 a.m. for a ride to Appleton to participate in their parade.  The parade stages at 12:00 and starts at 2:00 p.m.

7. Action in Jackson Parade: Sunday, June 13th, at Associated Bank on Hwy 60 just east of Hwy 45, in Jackson. Stage at 11:00 a.m., parade starts at 12:00 p.m. My son is graduating from high school that day, so I won't be at the parade. Ted Kern is our point of contact and coordinating the event for the Riders.

8. Family Fun Before the Fourth Parade: Saturday, June 26th, in Mequon. Stage at Main & Division Streets in Thiensville at 9:30 a.m., parade starts at 10:30 a.m.

A NOTE ON PARADES FOR 2010:

Please note some changes to parades, specifically, the POW / MIA Silent March will not be on Sept. 11th, but will be a week later in Plymouth. We have parades scheduled for July - Nov 2010 as follows: July 4th @ Post Washington & Saukville, July 17th @ Fish Days - Port Wash, Aug 7th @ Cambria, Aug 14th @ Belgium, Aug 28th @ Richfield, Aug 29th @ Milwaukee (National Convention Parade), Sept. 18th @ Plymouth and Nov 6th @ Milwaukee.

LZ LAMBEAU:

If you are a Vietnam Era vet and want to ride on the organized run from LaCrosse to Green Bay on May 21, contact me ASAP and I will send you a web link to a separate priority registration for Vietnam Era Riders to register. There is a second ride to Green Bay from the Milwaukee area organized by Rolling Thunder Wisconsin open to all vets (non-Vietnam Era included). Here are the details of the Milwaukee to Green Bay Run: There is also a run coming from Madison. See the web site for details.

The SE WI Ride to LZ Lambeau
Friday - May 21, 2010
lzlambeau.com

Kenosha - Uke's H-D 5995 120th St, Kenosha WI 53144
0630 - Staging
0700 - Depart for Milwaukee County Zoo (Distance 37 miles)

Milwaukee County Zoo 10001 W Bluemound Rd, Milwaukee WI 53226
0700 - Staging / Continental Breakfast
0845 - Welcome / Pledge / Briefing / Prayer
0900 - Depart for Appleton - TR Stadium (Distance 100 miles)

SHIRT ORDERS:

I'm putting a new shirt order together for those that may have missed the last one. We'll have T-shirts with the ALRA back patch and custom bottom rocker info (WISCONSIN, District 2 and your Post number), Polo shirts with pocket and ALRA front logo above the pocket, On the Short sleeve version, "Legion Riders" is embroidered on the left chest and "ALRA" printed on the neck. On the Long sleeve version, "Legion Riders" is printed down the sleeve and "ALRA" printed on the neck. Here's the deal on shipping: If you want a shirt and will pick it up at a monthly District Rider's meeting, it's the price listed below.

If you want your shirt mailed to you, ADD $5.00 to your order for shipping. Deadline for ordering is the June District membership meeting:

T-SHIRTS:
S-XL ($17), 2XL ($18), 3XL ($19), 4XL ($20), 5XL ($21)

SS MOCK:
S-XL ($17), 2XL ($18), 3XL ($19)

LS MOCK:
S-XL ($22), 2XL ($23), 3XL ($24)

POLO:
S-XL ($27), 2XL ($28), 3XL ($29), 4XL ($30), 5XL ($31)

ROCKERS:

I have received a note from the State Secretary that rockers are on order for Jacque, Sutinen, G. Stephens, Wiedmeyer and Richards. Please be patient; when I get 'em you'll know.

LEGACY RUN:

We have been discussing the best way to participate in the Legacy Run, which is taking a route from Indianapolis to Milwaukee via Kansas City and Minneapolis. The route has been established as follows:

Sun, Aug 22: Indianapolis IN to Concordia MO / 430 miles via I-70
Mon, Aug 23: Concordia MO to Bethany MO / 175 miles via I-70 & I-35
Tue, Aug 24: Bethany, MO to Albert Lea MN / 275 miles via I-35
Wed, Aug 25: Albert Lea MN to Stevens Point WI / 300 miles via I-35, I-94, HWY 29, & I-39
Thu, Aug 26: Stevens Point WI to Milwaukee WI / 175 miles via I-39 & I-94

The Legacy Run is pretty much a freeway blast on four-lane divided highways, not secondary roads. We were looking at the possibility of joining the Run somewhere along the route. Depending on whether district Riders would like to do a two or three day ride we could ride either to Albert Lea, MN (about 320 miles from Mequon), or to Stevens Point (about 140 miles from Mequon via Oshkosh). At this point, I think it might be a decent run to Stevens Point for an overnighter, joining the Legacy Run for the last leg into Milwaukee. There's just not a lot I need to see along I-70 or I-35! This will be a discussion item at our June meeting and we'll make a final decision on it then. Your comments are welcome.

FINAL REMINDERS:

At our December meeting, we approved an event for 2010 to again support veterans at the VA Adult Day Care center at the Zablocki VAMC by sponsoring their summer picnic. The event would involve two aspects of our support. First, we would provide financial support for part or all of the funding necessary to host the event. Also, we'll bring our bikes to show the veterans and spend some time with them in conversation. The event is tentatively scheduled for Friday, August 13th, 2010, when the veterans attend day care. Our caterer is available that day and we are working with him on the details. For information, all of the veterans in day care are over 60, and suffer from various disabilities due to age and service. They attend day care in order for their families to get a little time off from the daily demands of care giving.

In order to do this, we will be hosting a brat fry this coming month. Final details for that will be covered at our April meeting. The Brat Fry is scheduled for Saturday, April 24th at the Pick 'N Save in Saukville. They provide everything, except nescos and coolers. We have to purchase our product from the store. We have already reserved the site and date. The layout has lots of room and plenty of foot traffic at the store. This is a great location and hopefully, we'll have better weather this year and get lots of traffic.

Remember, when we ride as Legionnaires, We're Second to None!

Respectfully Submitted,
Elmer "Fudd" Prenzlow
President, 2nd DISTRICT
American Legion Riders Association of Wisconsin

• 2010 PDF Newsletter Archive
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