It's been quite a challenging time since the last letter to the membership. At the end of April, I became involved with the Patriot Guard Riders from a new viewpoint. My fiancée's father, a Korean War era Army veteran passed away less than a week after we became aware that he had cancer. As we sat with the funeral director discussing arrangements at Leavenworth National Cemetery, my familiarity with the services there brought up my involvement with the Patriot Guard Riders. The funeral director asked if we would have a mission and I admitted that we hadn't discussed it yet. After years of being an RC and contacting too many families, I really didn't know how to ask that question of those of my new family. Georgia's mother did ask that we attend and the KS ASC, "Lizard", assigned an RC to conduct a mission. Being less than an hour from Topeka, we decided to keep the connection within close friends only. Georgia and I would like to express our respect and thanks to RC Pam Whiddon and the PGR members who attended the services. Thank you!
As some members may be aware, BoD member Tom "Taz" Hoffmann suffered a recent heart attack. He is back to performing his BoD responsibilities at this time including working on the store negotiations. This past weekend, National Captain, Louann Thomas and AZ State Captain Harold Thomas were involved in a motorcycle/SUV disagreement. I believe that Louann and Harold are back in AZ now, but the bike remains on the injured list in CA.
Over the past month, possibly a bit longer, we have been very focused on the operation of the PGR Gear Store. Our vendor notified us of some changes they would require as part of the operation and expected to be in effect as of 1 JUN. The net sum of these proposed changes shifted 100% of inventory costs to the PGR and a few other changes. The BoD views their responsibility with the store as ensuring funds to provide for the support of the mission and operation of the PGR and HOTH to the best of our ability by providing our members with quality PGR merchandise. As the store funds the majority of our operations, it is something that we have had to put a great deal of attention on. One of our most serious concerns was the number of member items that were on back order due to the proposed change in inventory costs. The back orders were the sole reason for the temporary closing of the store. We were not going to continue business as usual while PGR members weren't receiving items they had paid for.
Over the last month and more, we have consulted with a number of vendors and received draft business plans, both from our current vendor and others. All proposals were subject to our non-conflict of interest and ethics guidelines. We are 100% sure that we are a strictly nonprofit organization at all levels and that we will continue to be. I've been postponing this letter hoping to have a finalized decision, but we aren't quite there yet. The only way we can operate the store efficiently requires a more active level of store management than we have had in the past. We've had many inventory items that have not sold well for various reasons that need to be addressed. I expect the store will become more active with new items, special products, clearance merchandise, and maybe a few more changes.
We are close to a decision and have reopened the store with items that are in stock, but we are still striving to agree on the best terms for the PGR. The BoD extends a personal apology for the members that have been awaiting backorders. We are committed to filling them personally as soon as possible. Not from our vendor, but from the BoD. We owe you that and more. If you choose to cancel and refund an order, we certainly understand. If you'll continue to give us a small bit of additional time, we intend to add some material thanks to your order for your patience.
In the past month, three of the RC's that I know have been involved in motorcycle accidents. We all know it can happen, no matter how experienced we are. Please take time to be safe and maintain your ride. We want to continue to stand missions with you for as long as we are needed. During missions, especially check your flag mounts (if any) and additional items you are carrying. When you have a group of riders with varied experience, it doesn't take much to create an incident. It's happened before and it will happen again. We have to do everything we can to prevent it.
There isn't any news regarding the trademark, other than some creative emails from a group supporting our Opposer, alleging that a decision in their favor was imminent, and recruiting folks to support a takeover. My belief in our case is as strong as it ever has been. I wish I could tell you that we will absolutely prevail in our defense of the mark, but we all know that many wrongs happen every day; confessed criminals go free on technicalities or corporations commit fraud with a slap on the wrist. I remain 100% in support of our case based on the evidence and testimony presented by both sides. You will all have access to that evidence in the future. If I have to send individual emails of attachments, that will happen.
There are a few continuing comments that I do need to address. If the PGR retains the rights to the mark, the organization can continue to fund the mission and operation; independent of any other source and without any lifelong individual personally controlling the organization. Period. If our Opposer wins, he is able to control the name and use of the PGR for his sole profit. Any support to the mission would be his personal and private choice, if any. It's quite easy to make a claim to donate a fixed percentage of funds, but it's pretty meaningless without any means to verify those claims.
There remains a posting on the Opposer’ s website that alleged our supplier could charge whatever they wanted (using the example of purchasing a jet!) to supply PGR gear items and we would never know what they made or where it went. That comment is hypocritical to the point of being absurd. The PGR can tell our vendor what we are willing to pay for merchandise. The cost of goods cannot increase without our agreement and to the best of my knowledge, we have never received a price increase other than for freight changes with the cost of fuel changes. This claim is actually only possible under the type of personal and for profit business that is operated by our Opposer. He has stated repeatedly that whatever profit he makes is his business, so there is zero accountability or documentation on his profits. The type of accountant supplied info that the PGR continually posts for the members.
I accept that some members have personal connections and trust with our Opposer and disagree with my views. I base my comments on the facts as I know them, not solely on if I "like" someone, or "trust" them, or even based on what this person has told me. I am confident that I can defend my statements. Please email me your disagreements if you are willing to have a friendly conversation on this. If your mind is closed to the possibility of any other views, please don't waste either of our time. I'm not interested in arguments, but in presenting the reasons for our position that you may not have heard. I don't expect to change anyone's mind on who they like, but the facts are what they are.
The PGR exists as a nonprofit corporation, due in part to his own actions. By the articles of incorporation and our bylaws, no individual "owns" the PGR nor the mission. There has never existed any agreement within the PGR that our Opposer owned any part of the PGR or any rights to any interest in the PGR. None of the positions on the BoD were ever given absolute power and everyone is subject to the same terms of service, including conflict of interest and disclosure.
As posted previously, in spite of repeated requests, our Opposer wouldn't even chance a ball park guess in regards to his store income while under oath. I don't believe anyone wouldn't have questions about how a person couldn't even guess what they make, yet are able to make absolute statements about how their operation is more efficient than the openly shared PGR Gear Store. I can't comprehend anyone not having an issue with that.
I really don't like this topic, and I know the vast majority are tired of it also, but do I need to continue to address the questions that are posed. Summary motions were filed in March, I'm told that a response to those filings could take approximately six months. If both motions are denied, I believe there should be approximately two months to present full arguments and then another two to six months for a decision. I'd like for this to conclude for all of us, but am more concerned that the PGR retain the right to our name and mark, and the continued use in performance of our mission, than how soon it will end.
There are a few specific thanks I would like to express in this letter. Drew Berendts is our Web Administrator. We've had a couple of technical issues this past month and Drew carries the majority of that load on his own, despite being several states away from our servers. He has also personally been responsible for receiving a number of equipment donations that will allow us to upgrade and replace virtually every piece of hardware on the site. These changes will increase our stability and performance as well as enable us to upgrade the site software for new and improved functions. I know Drew misses a lot of sleep and that frequently it's on our behalf.
I'd also like to express a huge amount of thanks to the members of the Patriot Guard Riders. You make the missions happen and focus on the important issues. I stand the flag line and continue to RC missions when needed, but because of responsibilities, the overall state of the PGR never goes far from my mind; how to protect, preserve, and ensure that the mission will always be met. The overwhelming part of that answer is guaranteed by you. You ensure they we fall in where needed, comfort where we can, and show our military and veterans that their service is recognized and respected. The difference that we make will always depend on you!
That's all I have for the moment. As soon as the store terms are agreed to, I'll post that info immediately in this area. Please note I didn't apologize for being late this time. It's not that I don't acknowledge that I am behind, but received email telling me that you all knew I'm frequently late and weren't surprised by it any more. The vast majority of our members are focused on the mission, and we thank you for that. I'll tell you honestly that the responsibilities and time that go with this job are at times overwhelming. The PGR started as a grass roots movement and we still haven’t grown the structure to support it remotely fast enough. Though the process has been frustratingly slow, there are appropriate reasons for the pace. Opportunities to help with that growth and structure will be available. I trust that our best years in support of our fallen, our mission, and America are ahead of us.
I am sincerely honored to stand the flag line with you. ~ Whirlwind