BELLE FOURCHE—200 riders rolled into the Center of the Nation for the inaugural Heroes Honor Ride (HHR) to kick off the first ride from Belle Fourche to the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, SD on August 3.
The Center of the Nation Monument located behind the Tri-State Museum served as the staging area for the grand event. Even though this was the first time the HHR began in Belle Fourche, the organization has been around for approximately 15 years. The board prides themselves on honoring and recognizing veterans and first responders.
HHR board president, Jesse Cunningham welcomed the crowd and thanked them for showing up to the inaugural ride. “I will tell you exactly who we are and what we’re doing,” he said. “Myself and my friends, Xotic Customs and some charities, we—for the better part of 10 years—have been building motorcycles to give to veterans. Over the course of the last 10 years, we have built 42 motorcycles to give away to veterans!”
The HHR is committed to doing this ride from the Center of the Nation to the Buffalo Chip every year in the future. All of the riders on this ride will get to pick the next group to be honored. “We’re going to host this ride annually and all of you are going to be a part of helping us select who our hero is. So everybody who’s on the ride today—who registered for the ride—you cast your vote, and we’re going to tally those votes and let everybody know what category we’ll be building a bike for next year—starting tonight at the Buffalo Chip,” explained Cunningham. “We will start receiving nominations across the United States for a hero for one of those categories, and then we will build a bike next year and bring it back here and present it and do this all over again next year!”
This year the Heroes Honor Ride honored Gold Star Families. Nola Fritz, from a Gold Star Family, was the keynote speaker. Fritz began her talk by asking if there were any Gold Star Families in attendance. As hands went up she said, “We’re here. It’s not the group we ever wanted to be in.”
She went on to tell the story of the loss of her son and explained what being part of a Gold Star Family entailed. Her son, First Lieutenant Jacob Fritz, was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and he was abducted and killed as a prisoner of war near Karbala, Iraq. She honors his memory by telling his story.
There were several celebrities on hand to help out with honoring the Gold Star motorcycle recipient and participate in the Heroes Honor Ride: Chris Kael, bass player for Five Finger Death Punch; MMA fighter Tim Sylvia; Frankie Loyal, an actor; and producer and country music singer Scotty Hasting Music. All were on hand to take pictures with the crowd and visit with the audience. “I had the opportunity to come here and do the ride today and raise some awareness and help out some people using our platform to lift up all others,” said Kael. “I love doing this stuff!”
Well-known personalities can help bring awareness to an organization like Heroes Honor Ride. “Being in a band like Five Finger Death Punch, we have a very big platform—a lot of supportive people out there, people who support the causes that we support,” explained Kael. “So anytime that we find something that we enjoy and that we can really get behind—like the Heroes Honor Ride—we’re gonna get it all out over the social media and newspapers and continue to shine light where light needs to be shined!”
Country Music singer Scotty Hasting donated his 2003 Heritage Softail 100th Anniversary Harley Davidson that was customized and given to a Gold Star recipient. Xotic Customs completely transformed the bike.
This year’s HHR Gold Star Recipient was Private First Class Preston Yager. He lost his father, Army Staff Sergeant Kenneth E. Locker, Jr. on April 23, 2007 in Iraq. When the customized bike was revealed, Yager was visibly touched by the honor. Yager shared the honor with his mom and brother.
Read the full issue of the Belle Fourche Beacon by clicking here.
