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The Second annual Motorcycle Ride to Benefit the Hendersonville Home Bound Meals Program (HBMP) was held on August 7th, 2021. We were excited and proud to have The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation as this year’s Title Sponsor and Paul Winkler Inc. as the Presenting Sponsor.

Registration for the ride started at 8:00am in the Hendersonville Church of Christ Parking Lot, the sky was a little overcast and there were a few raindrops, but they quickly disappeared, and it was a perfect day to ride through beautiful Sumner County.

After a welcome from HBMP President, Bill Walker, a briefing on the ride route and guidelines by Deputy Joe Brew, and a prayer for the bikers by Stan Wilson, kick stands were up at 9:00am and the riders left escorted by the Sumner County Sheriff Motor Officers, Hendersonville Police and Tennessee Highway Patrol. The Sumner County Sheriff Motor Officers were: Ofc. Joe Brew, Ofc. Taylor Key, and Ofc. David Langston. Hendersonville Police officers were Ofc. Allen Nash, Ofc. Tim Hall, Ofc. Dorian Falcon and Ofc. Don Goodwin. Tennessee State Trooper Matt Priest provided safety assistance at the rear of the ride.

The ride was little more than 2 hours long. From Rockland Road in Hendersonville the ride went north along New Shackle Island Rd. to Long Hollow Pike to Hwy 109 bypass to Hwy 25 to Hwy 31W to the Five Star Food Mart on Cummings Lane at I-65 in Portland for a brief pit stop. The Mart was a great stopping place, the employees were excited to see the riders, they came out to take pictures and extend a warm welcome. The facility was great, the parking lot was large, it was easily assessable, and the restrooms were clean and accommodating. Visiting with folks at the pit stop was an added bonus for the riders.  The conversation was lively and new friends were made.

From Five Star Food Mart, the ride took the riders to Hwy 52 along Hwy 31W. The route traveled to Portland to Hwy 109 where the route turned south to Gallatin. The riders exited at Long Hollow Pike and traveled along Hwy 386 (Vietnam Vets Hwy) to Saundersville Rd then to Gallatin Rd. The riders turned right onto Gallatin Rd to Drakes Creek Park ending at the Soccer Complex. The route was approximately 70 miles long.

Throughout the route at various intersections, other Sumner County officers aided in blocking the intersections with their official police vehicles. A big thanks to all of the motor officers for making the ride fun and safe.

The riders arrived at Drakes Creek Soccer Complex a little before 11:30am. They were hot, tired, and hungry, but excited about the ride. They were greeted by HBMP volunteers and offered a cold bottle of water while they waited for all of the riders to gather. Everyone joined together to sing the National Anthem, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and HBMP Treasurer Jay Roth gave thanks for the safety of the riders and for the food.

Lunch was served! The menu was BBQ, barbequed chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, pinto beans, corn, cornbread, and David Swanger’s world famous “Banana Pudding”. Everything was delicious, a big shout out to “BBQ Guys”: Colin Frisbie, Enzo Frisbie, Nathan Frisbie, Ceasar Cruz, and Randy Bernal who provided and smoked the meat and to David Swanger and his team Joe McConnel and Tommy Decker for the preparation of the sides and the yummy Banana Pudding.

 

This year, riders of antique motorcycles were invited to participate, and the bikes were parked where they could be admired by all. There were three participants, Pat Raymer, Bobby Newberry, and Ron Korzeniewski. Ron received a gift for having the oldest bike, a 1967 Harley-Davidson FLH Super Glide. A gift was also given to the oldest rider, 89 y.o. Orville Hughes. Congratulations Guys!

Thank you to the Sumner County Fire Buffs Association (Rehab 83) for coming out in support of the HBMP. The Fire Buffs are also a 501C3 with a team of volunteers that provides much needed support to the Sumner County Public Safety Responders. The volunteers are available 24/7 to support Sumner County Fire Departments, Police Departments, the Sheriff’s Office, and EMS at the request of the Incident Commander.  The Fire Buffs operate completely on donations and fundraisers to purchase much needed supplies & equipment to provide the Rehab services. The Fire Buffs were represented by Nicki Swisher and Eric Stefko. HBMP Board Member, Chuck Swann is VP of the Fire Buffs.

Thank you to all of the sponsors, contributors, donors, and volunteers who helped to make the ride a success by contributing money, the sites, items for the goodie bags and door prizes, food, beverages, time, and hard work. And thank you to all of the riders, we hope you enjoyed the ride and the meal and that you will join us next year for the 3^rd Annual Motorcycle Ride. Because of you, we met the goal to raise $10,000 for the program.

The sponsors, associate sponsors, and contributors are named on our webpage, (hendersonvillehbmp.org.), please help us show our appreciation by supporting them. We have also named the many donors and Friends of HBMP.

The Home Bound Meals Program will begin its 40^th year of serving “meals on wheels” to the Hendersonville Community in 2022. Please add our webpage to your favorites and follow us for more information on ways you can help support the program throughout the year, for other fundraisers including the Annual Pancake Breakfast & Silent Auction on October 30th, 2021, and of course, for information on the 2022 Motorcycle Ride.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,

The Motorcycle Ride Committee