Memorial Ride honors late Mustangs
TOM PINNEY/DAILY FORUM
Motorcyclists round Fifth Street in Hopkins on their way to Mozingo Lake Recreation Park for the Fifth Annual Mustangs Memorial Ride Saturday morning. Part of the annual Hopkins Picnic celebration, the ride included six motorcyclists and several others following in cars on a route that traveled through Grant City, Parnell, and Ravenwood en route to the Host Lions Shelter at Mozingo.
An area memorial motorcycle rally celebrated its fifth year on Saturday.
As part of the Hopkins Picnic, the North Nodaway Class of 1988 once again sponsored the Mustang Memorial Ride, which took place Saturday morning.
This number of entries was smaller than in years past, but organizers Bryan Komers, Mike Crowe, and Tina Dew noted that the ride was more than just for the riders.
“At our 25th class reunion, we noticed that the Hopkins Picnic was nothing like it used to be,” Komers said. “We wanted to do something to bring it back and help it grow again.
“We may not all have run together in high school, but this ride has caused us to value each other more than anything. It means a lot to give back to the community that gave us so much as we were growing up.”
“We know how important it is, not just for us, but for the community,” Crowe added. “This year, we’ve got people who came 500 miles to ride with us and to be part of the celebration.
“When I graduated, I didn’t think about staying in Hopkins because there weren’t any jobs for me here. But as I got older, I realized how important going to school here was in making me who I am today, and that’s why I keep coming back.”
The Mustang Memorial Ride was started in 2013 to honor Joshua Bix and Ben McIntyre of Hopkins and Crystal Olerich of Creston, Iowa, who were killed in a one-car accident near Hopkins in October 2011. This year, however, the riders were honoring another fallen classmate.
Neil Woods, who Crowe noted would have been part of the Class of 1988 if not for his family moving, passed away in August 2016. Crowe said Woods is added to the list of honorees for the Memorial Ride.
This year’s ride was also significant in that a special guest joined the ride.
“We were honored to have (Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney) Robert Rice join us for the ride,” Crowe said. “He is going to continue to ride with us going forward as a member of the scholarship selection committee and to help us organize the event.”
The Class of 1988 and the Memorial Ride also sponsor a raffle open to anyone and everyone at the Hopkins Picnic. Last year, the group raffled off a 2016 Indian motorcycle, the winner of which was Emily Bix.
This year’s grand prize was a new Coleman Trail Tamer 500 ATV. The winner was Gravity, Iowa resident Kris Kernen.
All proceeds from the ride, as well as a poker hand drawing, 50/50 drawing, and the raffle go to benefit the Mustang Memorial Fund which gives a scholarship each year to a graduating senior at North Nodaway High School. Past winners include Brittany Bix, 2014, Cameron Morrison, 2015, Koby Reynolds, 2016, and Jordan Snyder, 2017.
Snyder’s story is a new one for the scholarship, Dew said.
“The cost of education is rising, and this year’s recipient was very grateful to get it,” Dew said. “They told us later that the money he received put him over the top so that he doesn’t have to take out loans for his first year.”
Due to the funds raised through entry fees, the poker hand, the 50/50, and the raffle, the Mustang Memorial Scholarship in 2018 will be worth $1,000.