The

2009 Ride to Remember – Was Held May 14th to May 16th 2009

As another R2R comes to an end, (hopefully everyone has made it home
safe and relatively dry) it is my hope that "y'all" had a
memorable time this year, that you made some new friends caught up with
old ones and can take pride in what the JMA stands for.

I personally would like to publicly thank all those that put their
heart and soul's into making this years events some of the most
memorable for myself and hopefully for you. I would like to give a
special thanks to three individuals that went above and beyond in making
this year's event such a success.

The first person would be Ron Wynne who helped to plan or was involved
in almost all aspects of the event. He was there whenever we ran across
a problem no matter how small or trivial it was, he took it upon himself
to get it fixed sometimes even before we new that it existed. Second
would be Mindy Dauber whose steadfast efforts led to the JMA raising
over $50,000.00 for our charities. Third would be Sharri Thomas who for
the third year in a row has handled all the registration paperwork and
merchandise sales. (She finally made it to her first event).

As president of the JMA I look back at where we were a mere five years
ago and am amazed at what we have become? We have grown from 5 initial
clubs and an idea to an astounding 36 clubs located in five countries
around the world.

We as a group have impacted tens of thousands of lives thru our
endeavors, be it at one of the R2R or at one of the many charity events
that our individual clubs are involved in each year or just letting
people know we are there for them in their time of need.

As we continue to grow it is my hope that when other organization's
think about inviting groups to their functions the JMA and its member
clubs are the first one on their list!

In closing I would like to thank all those that made the trip to
Savannah, it was great seeing old friends and making new ones and
I'm already looking forward to next year in Chicago!

Thanks,

President JMA

We ride to remember so others will Never Again Repeat this Holocaust

Our “partners” for the 2009 R2R are the Jewish Federations of Savannah and Charleston and Rabbi Arnold Belzer of the historic Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah (3rd oldest Jewish congregation in America!) Rabbi Belzer has invited all JMA attendees to attend services at his congregation on Fri. evening and Saturday. Mickve Israel is about a 10 minute walk from the hotel.

Fundraising Information

We’ll be raising funds for Holocaust educational endeavors sponsored by the Jewish communities in Savannah and Charleston.

The First JMA Ride to Whitwell

Our Return trip to Whitwell TN was as in our first trip an amazing event. The people of this small southern town are true mensches; they continue to amaze me with everything they do!   The determination and perseverance that the Students and Facility of Whitwell Middle School have shown, will continue to impact the entire world for generations to come. This trip as was the first is a treasured memory I will never forget. It is truly amazing to think that such a humble place could do something of such importance.

Walking thru the halls of the new school and seeing Hebrew saying on the walls, pictures of immigrants from Ellis Island, a quilt with Holocaust remembrance tiles to the installation of a new Mezuzah, was and always will be a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Many of the people I met were wearing their R2R pins and all were truly excited to see us, thanking me numerous times for coming to their event, and for everything the JMA did.  Everyone that I met wanted a picture in front of the motorcycles and all had questions about the JMA.

As I told one of the people that I met, the last time we were here it was raining and it's raining again…I wonder if these are gods tears of not only sorrow for what happened in the Holocaust but at the same time tears of joys for what these people have accomplished and continue to accomplish every day.  

 As I was presenting the JMA plaque to Linda Hooper I could not help but think how very proud I was to be associated with the JMA and the Whitwell School at that moment, and to be a small part of such a huge event! It is truly incredible what this small town has accomplished in raising the awareness and educating all people about intolerance, not only of the holocaust but all racism.

Thank you to those of you that were able to take time out of your busy schedules to ride, and or drive up in the rain and attend.

 During the day I met people that had flown in from all over the world to attend just this event. Again truly amazing! One person I met had flown in all the way from South Africa, another from Australia and others from places in between.  The JMA had members from the SabraRiders of Atlanta the Chai Riders of Chicago; we also had a rider from Birmingham AL, if I've missed anyone else that was there please forgive me.

I would encourage those of you who haven't yet had an opportunity to visit the Paperclip Memorial to do so it is truly an amazing memorial.

Mark Olstein
President JMA