Gathering of the Guard

Last year Gary was elected to serve on the board of directors for the Montana Patriot Guard Riders. The board meets four times a year and the meetings are divided evenly between the three zones, east, central and west.

Every fourth weekend in June is the Gathering of the Guard where everyone in the state comes together for a short general meeting and then some fun stuff. The gathering is divided evenly between the three zones as well. This year the Gathering was held in Billings.

Gary and the other eastern zone representative were in charge of the Gathering this year. They met in April to find a space in Billings to hold it. It was decided to have it at the Holiday Inn. They gave us the meeting space for free provided that we bought coffee and assorted pastries, they also gave us a deal on rooms $77 per night. A plus for having the Gathering at the Holiday Inn was that a group of Viet Nam vets were also having a conference the same weekend.

Got all the arrangements made and notices put out, now we just wait. People were to rsvp for numbers. Only about 40 people rsvp but you will always have extra, so it was hard to calculate.

Gary and I made our motel reservations fairly early and we decided to make a weekend out of it, so we stayed two nights. Had a great time. We arrived Friday to get checked in and find our room. The Holiday Inn in Billings is like a maze. We were directed to park in the south lot and use entrance B that was close to our room. We ended up walking a long ways, on our own we found a closer parking spot and entrance. Wandered around a bit and found out where things were for us.

The Viet Nam group that was having the conference were the motorcycle group, some we recognized from Cody when we do the Ride to The Wall in July. All these bikers checking in along with regular travelers. Wonder what the travelers thought of Holiday Inn checking in trashy bikers. Some of them looked pretty rough.

We had a good time, Saturday morning had the meeting. Not very many showed up for the meeting. There was a silent auction with some nice stuff. There was a leather coat that fit Gary, so I bid on it. It also fits me, but he really wanted it. Besides, I already got a coat and some boots, it was his turn to get something. The retail on the coat stated $200 and I bid $20. Get the bid going and wait and see how high it will go. I was the only one who bid on the coat. Most of the guys are pretty burly and it didn't fit them. Gary got a new coat. The coat actually wasn't brand new, it had been worn a couple times as Gary found a package of chewing gum in one of the pockets.

I also got for free two stainless steel travel coffee mugs, a t-shirt, some stickers and pens. Again coming home with more than I brought. I bought some raffle tickets, but we didn't win any of those prizes.

After the general meeting, the board met to straighten out some language issues in the bylaws. Will get that taken care of at the next meeting in September. Gary thought he had one year left of his term, but found out that he had two more years. Oh well, that's how it goes.

After the board meeting we all met at the National Guard Armory for a ride to the Long Branch Saloon in Ballentine. A Billings resident set this up as an honor for the Patriot Guard and all the work that we do. There were 100 bikes for the ride. We got a police escort all the way. I guess this makes us officially a member of a biker gang. It was fun, because the patrolman who led us had us go through a construction zone at 70mph.

Arrived in Ballentine and had a great time. We were served burgers, brats and assorted salads all very tasty free of charge. Then there was a presentation. Later on a couple local bands were performing. We didn't stay long enough for that.

The weather was very nice for the weekend. We had sun on Saturday, it was very nice to ride the bike without many layers. I felt a bit naked. After the doings in Ballentine, we went back to the motel and just relaxed. Got home on Sunday morning.