The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
St. Louis Center doubles attendance at Blessing of the Bikes
By Joseph Yekulis, Guest Writer
PUBLISHED: May 22, 2008
As anyone who supports a non-profit organization knows, coming up with a new event is a challenging endeavor, however, a group of benefactors supporting St. Louis Center have found the magic formula. According to event chair Sheila Fitzgibbons of Mason, "It's all about hard work and perseverance," as the second annual Blessing of the Bikes event turned out to be a huge success on Sunday, April 27.
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This year's attendance was double that of the 2007 inaugural event, as 160 people were in attendance, riding in on 120 various motorcycles on a beautiful spring day. Two motorcycle clubs made a strong showing, as 35 members of the "Motown Hogs" were present from the Downriver Detroit area, and ABATE (American Bikers Aiming Toward Education) was in attendance with 20 members of their own.
The premise of the event was to provide a destination point for motorcyclists with common spiritual interests to gather on a Sunday afternoon in the spring to receive a Blessing for a safe summer riding season. St. Louis Center seemed to provide the perfect venue with its beautiful country setting, a great charity for people to support, and a group of Catholic priests from the Servants of Charity who could provide the group with the Lord's blessing.
Along with the spiritual aspect, riders in attendance were treated to gifts of skull caps and St. Louis Center pins upon their arrival, spiritual rock music performed by the band "Never Grave" from Holt, and plenty of food and soft drinks available for purchase.
Michelle Martin of Michigan Center was in attendance to "celebrate life," on her pink custom painted Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Martin is a breast cancer survivor who bought the motorcycle specifically to live the rest of her life to the fullest. "I'm very happy to be here right now, and every day for me is a new celebration of my life. This is a wonderful event, and it's great to see so many people here enjoying themselves today."
The event raised nearly $2,000 for St. Louis Center, which is a residential care center for developmentally disabled children and adults west of Chelsea.
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