Mayor’s Ride and rally foundation checks presented

OFF THE WIRE
T.J. Tranchell, Meade County Times-Tribune staff rapidcityjournal.com
STURGIS – Some funds raised for charities during the 70th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally came a step closer Monday to reaching the nonprofit agencies that need help.
The city of Sturgis presented the Sturgis Rally Foundation with a check for $22,669.12 at the city council meeting. The majority of those funds came from raffle-ticket sales and rally sponsors.
Rally director Brenda Vasknetz said that in exchange for heightened exposure for their brands, “these corporations make an investment in and form a relationship with the Sturgis motorcycle rally and the community of Sturgis. …”
Those funds will be distributed to area nonprofit organizations Thursday, Dec. 16, when the Sturgis Center for the Arts will host a ceremony with the rally foundation and the nonprofits receiving those funds.
The Mayor’s Ride also presented checks for $10,500 to the Sturgis Volunteer Fire Department, $2,000 to the Special Olympics/Sturgis Police Department Reserves and $1,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
“This is just another way that the Sturgis motorcycle rally benefits the community,” said a prepared release from Sturgis Mayor Maury LaRue, who could not attend the presentation. “We ask a great deal of our volunteer firefighters year-round, but especially during the rally and the weeks leading up to it.”
San Monahan of the fire department said that the funds would be used to acquire state-of-the-art extraction equipment; their current equipment sometimes is inadequate for harder metal composites used in newer vehicles, he said.