K of C motorcycle ministry raises funds on two wheels
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Joseph Sapia|Correspondent
Engines roared to life, the bikers swung out of the Middletown parking lot July 21, another band of motorcycles heading south for the meet-up.
Not as in Hells Angels, but more like in Heaven’s Angels. These were either members or guests of the New Jersey Knights of Columbus Motorcycle Ministry, some 170 strong.
“Spreading the word of the Knights of Columbus on two wheels,” said Ralph Kinnick, a Middletown resident who is the ministry’s vice president.
On this day the ministry was running its fourth annual Special Olympics Poker Run. Pay a fee ($20 for a rider, $15 for a passenger), stop at five spots along a 65-mile route from Vincent T. Lombardi Council 6552 , Middletown, to Mary, Queen of Knights Council 816, Neptune City, and pick up a playing card. The motorcycle with the best poker hand at the end wins.
Money raised – either through the ride itself or other contributions – goes to the New Jersey Special Olympics, a sporting program for the intellectually challenged. Last year, $7,800 was raised. This year, once all donations are totaled, the ministry hopes to donate $10,000.
The Motorcycle Ministry began in October 2008, its roots at the Lombardi Council, said Jim Stoever, a charter member of the ministry and its most recent past president. Two Lombardi Council members – Jim Pesonen of Atlantic Highlands and John Brandon of Middletown – were the co-founders.
Pesonen suggested a Knights motorcycle group, said Brandon. About a dozen Lombardi Council members jumped in, with a total of about 25 or 30 Knights from around the state signing the charter, Brandon said. Today, there are approximately 125 to 140 members, with the group broken down between two chapters, North and South of the Raritan River.
“We’re open to all Knights, whether they ride (a motorcycle) or not,” said Brandon, retired from the safety and training field for petroleum companies. “We take the same principles of the (Knights) order: charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism.”
Stoever, who is a member of Epiphany Parish and Council 8160, both in Brick, and who was recently installed as the new Knights of Columbus state warden, began motorcycling 35 years ago, but gave it up when he and his wife were raising their son, now 30. After his son grew up, Stoever got back to riding.
“I wanted to ride with someone with the same ethical and moral values and feelings I have,” said Stoever, explaining how he wound up riding with the ministry. “We (in the ministry) get to go out and ride. We feel the same way about issues. We ride for charity.”
“It’s great camaraderie, great service to the community,” Ledone said.
The ministry has a combination of formally organized and impromptu rides, said Stoever.
“In New Jersey, it’s hard to ride alone,” Ledone added. “By yourself, people cut you off. When you’re in a group, it’s definitely safer. You watch out for each other, people see you.”
On this day, the poker ride began in Middletown and meandered to Neptune City, with stops in between in Howell, Jackson and, again, Howell.
“All back countryside, no highways,” said Kinnick, a ministry charter member who is a member of the Lombardi Council and St. Catherine Parish, Middletown. “You want a scenic route, minimum traffic.”
“It was nice,” said Eismont’s wife, Kathy, at the end of the ride on which she and her husband each rode a cycle.
Kathy Eismont said she has been riding her own cycle for seven years. “I was kind of tricked into it,” she said. “He (her husband) kept saying, ‘What if something happens to me?
You need to know how to ride.’” So, she took the training and qualified for her license, finding a motorcycle her husband bought her in the driveway when she completed the training.
Summing up their mission, ministry president, Mark “Bozz” Bozzo, of Bradley Beach, said, “Beautiful charity work. Volunteerism is what we’re here for.”
Reflecting on the current Poker Run, Al Carregal, a member of St. Mary Parish and Annunciation Council 3826, Barnegat, said, “Special Olympics, anything to do with children, children with special needs, that’s one of the causes that brings us together.”
“See the looks on their (Special Olympian) faces,” said Jon Hughes, also a member of St. Mary Church and Annunciation Council. “Win or lose, they didn’t care, they just enjoyed being out competing.”
At the end of the ride in Neptune City, the bikers had a barbeque, while they listened to live music and socialized.
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By Joseph Sapia|Correspondent
Engines roared to life, the bikers swung out of the Middletown parking lot July 21, another band of motorcycles heading south for the meet-up.
Not as in Hells Angels, but more like in Heaven’s Angels. These were either members or guests of the New Jersey Knights of Columbus Motorcycle Ministry, some 170 strong.
“Spreading the word of the Knights of Columbus on two wheels,” said Ralph Kinnick, a Middletown resident who is the ministry’s vice president.
On this day the ministry was running its fourth annual Special Olympics Poker Run. Pay a fee ($20 for a rider, $15 for a passenger), stop at five spots along a 65-mile route from Vincent T. Lombardi Council 6552 , Middletown, to Mary, Queen of Knights Council 816, Neptune City, and pick up a playing card. The motorcycle with the best poker hand at the end wins.
Money raised – either through the ride itself or other contributions – goes to the New Jersey Special Olympics, a sporting program for the intellectually challenged. Last year, $7,800 was raised. This year, once all donations are totaled, the ministry hopes to donate $10,000.
The Motorcycle Ministry began in October 2008, its roots at the Lombardi Council, said Jim Stoever, a charter member of the ministry and its most recent past president. Two Lombardi Council members – Jim Pesonen of Atlantic Highlands and John Brandon of Middletown – were the co-founders.
Pesonen suggested a Knights motorcycle group, said Brandon. About a dozen Lombardi Council members jumped in, with a total of about 25 or 30 Knights from around the state signing the charter, Brandon said. Today, there are approximately 125 to 140 members, with the group broken down between two chapters, North and South of the Raritan River.
“We’re open to all Knights, whether they ride (a motorcycle) or not,” said Brandon, retired from the safety and training field for petroleum companies. “We take the same principles of the (Knights) order: charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism.”
Stoever, who is a member of Epiphany Parish and Council 8160, both in Brick, and who was recently installed as the new Knights of Columbus state warden, began motorcycling 35 years ago, but gave it up when he and his wife were raising their son, now 30. After his son grew up, Stoever got back to riding.
“I wanted to ride with someone with the same ethical and moral values and feelings I have,” said Stoever, explaining how he wound up riding with the ministry. “We (in the ministry) get to go out and ride. We feel the same way about issues. We ride for charity.”
“It’s great camaraderie, great service to the community,” Ledone said.
The ministry has a combination of formally organized and impromptu rides, said Stoever.
“In New Jersey, it’s hard to ride alone,” Ledone added. “By yourself, people cut you off. When you’re in a group, it’s definitely safer. You watch out for each other, people see you.”
On this day, the poker ride began in Middletown and meandered to Neptune City, with stops in between in Howell, Jackson and, again, Howell.
“All back countryside, no highways,” said Kinnick, a ministry charter member who is a member of the Lombardi Council and St. Catherine Parish, Middletown. “You want a scenic route, minimum traffic.”
“It was nice,” said Eismont’s wife, Kathy, at the end of the ride on which she and her husband each rode a cycle.
Kathy Eismont said she has been riding her own cycle for seven years. “I was kind of tricked into it,” she said. “He (her husband) kept saying, ‘What if something happens to me?
You need to know how to ride.’” So, she took the training and qualified for her license, finding a motorcycle her husband bought her in the driveway when she completed the training.
Summing up their mission, ministry president, Mark “Bozz” Bozzo, of Bradley Beach, said, “Beautiful charity work. Volunteerism is what we’re here for.”
Reflecting on the current Poker Run, Al Carregal, a member of St. Mary Parish and Annunciation Council 3826, Barnegat, said, “Special Olympics, anything to do with children, children with special needs, that’s one of the causes that brings us together.”
“See the looks on their (Special Olympian) faces,” said Jon Hughes, also a member of St. Mary Church and Annunciation Council. “Win or lose, they didn’t care, they just enjoyed being out competing.”
At the end of the ride in Neptune City, the bikers had a barbeque, while they listened to live music and socialized.