Shasta Salute to America and the Traveling Wall/ Tulelake Fairgrounds July 1, 2009

Jeff Kraus here, the organizer of the Shasta Salute to America Motorcycle Rally being held Independence Day weekend at the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds. The theme of our event is to honor America’s troops & celebrate our freedom to ride. We are planning to make the Shasta Salute to America Motorcycle Rally the greatest patriotic motorcycle event in the western region of America. All the ingredients are in place: a supportive community with a rich veterans’ history, many supportive regional businesses, supportive regional military installations & supportive law enforcement. Add beautiful riding and great places to discover and you have what it takes to launch a new tradition for motorcyclists – the largest, most mobile, fuel efficient & affluent hobby group in the world! The positive economic impact on the region will increase every year South Bay Biker Productions produces our amazing event.
In cooperation with regional law enforcement, on Wednesday, July 1st, South Bay Biker Productions is organizing a fitting escort for the America Veterans Traveling Tributes (www.avtt.org) truck rig which contains 80% scale replicas of the sacred “Traveling Wall” & “Cost of Freedom” displays – over a football field long when they are set up! We have also invited the Malin Car Show owner/drivers to join the motorcyclists, Patriot Guard Riders, CA & OR law enforcement, civil service & regional military personnel & their vehicles in this escort which will muster at the Klamath Falls Home Depot parking lot at 10:00 am. We are expecting a good turnout of local media (radio, newspapers & TV) & regional officials. The escort will be lead by Ms. Carolyn Blashek & SSG Elizabeth Cowie, the founders of Operation Gratitude (www.operationgratitude.com). Since Operation Gratitude’s inception six years ago, Ms. Blashek has been invited to the White House twice – most recently she was in Washington DC during Inauguration Week wrapping OPGrat CARE packages side-by-side with First Lady, Michelle Obama & 12,000 other volunteers! SSG Cowie has been home from her deployment to Iraq less than a year. SSG Cowie spoke to Shasta Rally patrons from our main stage before Heidi Newfield’s performance last year. By the time SSG Cowie was done speaking to the bikers about Operation Gratitude, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house! The AVTT escort will travel west on 6th Ave, to Washburn Way, to Hwy 140, to Hwy 139, & on to the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds for set up. We hope the citizens & businesses in the area will turn out to pay their respects & to witness the escort lead by two authentic American heroes as it passes. We invite all media to cover this occasion.

South Bay Biker Productions is seeking donations to assist with AVTT sponsorship costs. Anyone wishing to “pony up” can mail their donations direct to the address below my signature. Checks should me made payable to “South Bay Biker Productions.” Sponsorship donations can also be made through our online store: http://yhst-50498575555073.stores.yahoo.net/trwado.html In return for their sponsorship donation, the donor’s names will be published on our website & at the displays. Donations of $50 or more will receive my last film, “Ain’t No Sin to Ride,” a 40 minute documentary about the inaugural Shasta Salute to America Motorcycle Rally (a value of $14.95). The DVD will be available at our check-in booth at the Main Entrance to the venue when the donor presents their receipt for their generous donation. I am very proud of this film & believe it shows off the region and the amazing event my partner, Debbie Johnson & I produced last year. The displays will be open to the public, FREE of charge, 24/7, through Sunday evening. We encourage ALL Americans to come & pay their respects. Our children should all be given the opportunity to learn about the price America’s troops have paid to give us the privilege to live in a free country. FREEDOM ISN’T FREE!
On Sunday @ 8:00 am there will be a traditional “bike blessing” conducted by the Christian Motorcyclists Association / Redding, Anderson & Yreka Chapters. Following the bike blessing there will be a dedication ceremony for AVTT’s “Cost of Freedom” & “Traveling Wall” displays. After the ceremony, there will be the “Ride of Honor” – biker line up single file & ride the interior perimeter saluting the displays. Afterwards, bikers will join other “Bunch-A-Thunder” military tribute parade participants. The parade is dedicated to the memory of Mike Bunch, the former Mayor of Tulelake. Mike was instrumental in garnering community support for the Shasta Salute to America Motorcycle Rally. Parade participants will form up on G St. “Bunch-A-Thunder” will begin at approximately 10:30 am & conclude at approximately 12:30 pm back at the main entry to the fairgrounds. We expect a large contingency of veterans & a large presence of all branches of the American military throughout the event. Malin Car Show folks have been invited to join us for all the scheduled activities on Sunday to cap off the tri-cities Independence Day weekend festivities.

Please take time to visit our website for more details of all the fun & exciting events we have planned throughout Independence Day weekend. If you would like to discuss this further & / or have questions, please feel at ease to call me any time, toll free, @ 877-688-4229.

Jeff Kraus - EZJ
President
South Bay Biker Productions
877-688-4229
http://www.shastarally.com