Tommy “TomKatz” Poss 1952-2008   Tommy Clay Poss, 56, of Florence Alabama , passed away Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008, after a sudden illness.  Most of our members knew him as TomKatz whether on the forums or meeting him on a mission.  Tommy was a dedicated family man, a US Navy and Vietnam veteran, church member, member of the local Masonic Temple, and still he found time to honor our troops and their families as a Patriot Guard Rider – starting out on the flag line and becoming Ride Captain, Senior Ride Captain, Regional Captain and finally a member of the Board of Directors.    Those of you who knew Tommy were blessed.  He was one of the most genuine and good people that you could ever met, and he will be missed.  Those of you that ever met him knew right away that he was one of the good guys and we are thankful for that.   We all want to thank his wife of 34 years, Jackie, for sharing him with us, and want to wish his family and friends our sincere and heartfelt prayers. We are all better people for having met Tommy.

Dear Fellow Patriots, As you have probably noticed by now there is a new button on the home page just below the navigation pane on the left hand side.  This button will enable you to make a donation to our Legal defense fund.  It's labeled Defense Fund, as not to confuse it with the “Donate To PGR” button below it.  This is a PayPal account and 100% of donations will go to pay our legal costs for the trademark issue.  Our leadership was truly hoping it would not come to this, but they need your assistance in keeping the “Patriot Guard Riders” in the possession of its members, not one person.  The board has tried at length to negotiate this issue, but their efforts have fallen on deaf ears and are left no other option but to follow all legal avenues available to them. This is not something the BOD asks lightly.  Our members already pay all of their own expenses to honor the fallen, to attend every mission.  They pay for the privilege to ride in the rain or in the cold, and the Board of Directors does not wish to further add to their burden.  Since the PGR is a 100% volunteer organization, it counts on donations from members and other concerned citizens to help keep us up and running. If it appears the donations are approaching the amount of the legal costs, the button will go away.  We don't want to raise one extra penny this way; our members give so much already. If there is any amount raised in excess of the legal fees, 100% of the surplus will be given to the HOTH program...