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Why we support and why they ride

You may have heard that we are again sponsoring the Wounded EOD Warrior Ride, aptly named the Undefeated Ride, to raise funds for the Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation (WEODWF). We all have been asked to support things from buying Girl Scout cookies to blood drives for the American Red Cross to groups that help internationally. There are so many groups, causes and funds that need help, where do you begin? We chose the Wounded EOD Warrior Ride for a couple reasons.

First this is a group that not many people have heard of. Before the movie “The Hurt Locker” won six Academy Awards, you probably wouldn’t have known that EOD means Explosive Ordnance Disposal. These folks are trained to detect, disarm and dispose of bombs. The funds raised by the foundation support the families’ travel expenses during treatment and long-term care as the spouses often are no longer able to work. Unfortunately, the government does not pick up the cost to these brave heroes so it’s up to groups like WEODWF to help bridge the gap.

We also know the guys who are putting on the ride. The guys riding are all big-hearted “aging” athletes, many of whom are current or retired military from all branches. They get together annually to ride some pretty tough rides affectionately known as the Train of Pain. Many in the group are either current EOD, retired EOD, or know many folks on the EOD team. They saw the need of their brothers in arms and said “we can do something,” and they did it. They built the program and found sponsors, all in their spare time. This kind of passion and enthusiasm is prevalent throughout the military community and we are honored to be part of it.

We not only sponsor and promote, we also ride. Two members of our management team, Carter Goodnough and John Nixon, will also be riding. The ride is nearly 200 miles long so these guys spend many weekends and evenings training. But that is nothing compared to long deployments and dangerous missions, so there is no complaining.

When the going gets a little rough, we realize that we need to do more, for those who give a lot more.