Newsletter
G’day Everyone,
As in the past I’ve used this section to let you know the general chaos of our lives; there are never enough projects on our already heavily loaded plate. But hey, what can I say, we like to stay full!
Our newest endeavor has been a partnership with the amazing folks at Racer Productions to have the FMF Steele Creek GNCC “go purple” to help raise funds and awareness for our March of Dimes team. If you’ve been following our family for very long, many of you know that we experienced a lot of health difficulties with our second child, Rionn. With a lot of time, surgeries, hospital stays and pain, Rionn will be celebrating his 5th birthday this September, and just got his first PW 50 and gear for Christmas.
Sadly, some families aren’t as fortunate as ours and their little ones don’t make it to their first birthday. Babies every day are born too early to survive or with life threatening birth defects. In fact, according to the bikersforbabies.com site, 548 babies die every week due to complications from premature birth and birth defects. For our family, that’s just not acceptable! I could spout facts and go on and on with stories of families I know that have experienced this tragedy, but my guess is if you think about it for about 30 seconds (or at least talk to your missus) you’ll be able to come up with a quick list of people you know that have a baby born too early, or with life changing health problems.
The main fundraising effort for this event will consist of two big ticket raffles throughout the weekend: one with ATV specific prizes will be drawn on Saturday afternoon during the pro ATV race and the other with bike specific product will be drawn on Sunday afternoon during the pro bike race. In the spirit of competition, fun and spectator involvement, there will also be some exciting events taking place at the starting line of both the 10 a.m. amateur race and the 1 p.m. pro race.
100% of the proceeds from this event will go to support the March of Dimes.
So here’s the deal:
1. If you’re going to be in Morganton, North Carolina March 31-April 1 for the Steele Creek GNCC, come in style. Deck yourself, ATV/bike, pits, whatever in purple! If you’re racing, stop by our tent next to the registration trailer to pick up your purple pom-pom and make sure you bring it to the starting line. Special discounts for purple graphics are being provided by our DirtWise sponsor, DecalMX. (Powersport Grafx will also be running a special); just let them know when you call that you need the special for “Steele Creek Going Purple” Finally, don’t forget to purchase your raffle tickets!
2. If you’re not going to be at the race, you can still enter the raffle. Tickets and information will be available on our website for purchase starting next week. Raffle tickets are 1 ticket for $5 or 5 tickets for $20. Stay tuned for a full announcement of what the prizes will be.
3. Whether you’re coming to the race or not, help support the fundraising effort and show that the racing community wants every kid to be able to experience the thrill of a starting line or trail! Simply join our March for Babies team at www.marchforbabies.com/gnccracersforbabies and send out a brief email to your contacts requesting their support (you probably won’t be actually walking with us on April 28th, but that’s ok! You can still join our “Racers for Babies” fundraising team). It’s that easy.
Noah Ogden born 12/15/11 (Las Vegas, NV) Courtesy of proud parents and fellow race enthusiasts Rhett and Teonne Ogden
Click here to check out the official announcement from the folks at GNCC Racing.
Latest Additions:
DirtWise Dates and Locations
We are stoked to be able to announce that we have opened registration for 3 new schools for our 2012 DirtWise line up.
- June 9/10 (Sat/Sun) Price, UT – Open for Registration
- June 16/17 (Sat/Sun) Whitehall, MT – Open for Registration
- June 22/23 (Fri/Sat) Alberta, Canada – Open for Registration
Check out our website for all the latest school info and to find the one nearest you!
New Sponsor, New Game!
Want to win some killer goggles?
We are proud to announce that we just added POC Goggles
to our list of 2012 sponsors and are stoked to be able to give you a chance to try this great Swedish product.
This Friday (March 23) we will be conducting a trivia question on our FB page and the winner will receive a free pair of POC goggles. Be sure to “Like” us, as we will continue to conduct these competitions on FB at regular intervals during the future. With our upcoming trivia questions you can win some great prizes from our other awesome sponsors!
Why We Do It:
My wife and I often get questions about how we manage the extensive travel and time apart. Of course the bills have to get paid, but that’s only part of it. It’s a big sacrifice for our whole family, but when I got this email recently from a father who brought his son to a DirtWise school, it really brought it home for us:
“Once we got home he was telling his mother about all the cool things that he can now do on a dirt bike, and the next thing you know he was crying. Because he was sad that it was the best weekend he has ever had with me and that he wishes we could do it everyday. The DirtWise school made both of us a better rider and him and I closer together.”
Thanks to everyone who sends in emails like this one. You make my day (and my wife get all teared up)!
We’d love to list all of the awesome results that many of our previous DirtWise students have been gaining in the recent months but unfortunately there is just too many of you who have improved heaps and are riding so well in the races you attend. Just the other day I was watching the live scoring feed for the opening round of the GNCC series and it was like every other competitor there was a previous student that we had the pleasure of working with. Whether you’re a racer or just a casual trail rider hopefully you all are continuing to practice the necessary skills exercises and are making good progress with your skills improvement.
Keep on roosting,
Shane Watts
