Winter started Thanksgiving weekend in the Big Horn Mountains, the site for the Eighth Annual Bear Lodge Bad Boys Riding Club's annual dinner party and season kick off! I was honored to have been selected as the speaker at their dinner. In attendance at the event, hosted by Roberta and Rick Young owners of Bear Lodge, were over 300 snowmobilers from all over the region. At the event, the leaders of the Riding Club announced a generous $1,000 contribution to BlueRibbon's Yellowstone Defense Fund for its efforts in Yellowstone Winter Use Snowmobile Advocacy.
The Bear Lodge Bad Boys Riding Club was founded in 2002 by Tom Kostreba and Rick Young. The purpose of the club is to promote year round awareness of the recreational riding areas in the Big Horn Mountains and the surrounding region open to those activities. The "Club" has only one activity each year, and that is the $50,000 raffle/donation in which 500 tickets are sold for a $100 donation each. The main "Club" event is the dinner party, where the drawing is held for the winning tickets for over $32,000 in prizes, including the $10,000 Grand Prize and cash prizes ranging from $500 to $50, as well as several 2 night stays at Bear Lodge. The remaining $18,000 raised after the expenses of the raffle and the dinner are used to improve recreational opportunities and safety in the Northern Big Horns and support to snowmobile issues in the region. One example of a snowmobile issue in the region is Yellowstone National Park "Winter Use Issue."
Over the 7 years of the $50,000 fund raiser the following have been supported from the proceeds, the purchase and maintenance of snowmobile rescue sleds and other rescue vehicles; additional funds have been used for signs, posters, and other handouts supporting responsible recreation in the Big Horn Mountains. In the past, funds have been allocated to support BlueRibbon's efforts too.
On behalf of BlueRibbon I want to thank the Bear Lodge Bad Boys Riding Club and all the snowmobilers that helped make the event a success and for their support of the BlueRibbon Coalition.
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The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible recreation, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. With members in all 50 states, BRC is focused on building enthusiast involvement with organizational efforts through membership, outreach, education, and collaboration among recreationists. 1-800-BLUERIB - http://www.sharetrails.org.
