3rd Rotary Bike Ride To Benefit Vets To Be Held Mar. 19!

The New Tampa Noon Rotary may not be the largest Rotary Club in our area, but the spirit of Rotary International’s motto of “Service Above Self” is alive and well among the club’s members, despite the small size (fewer than 20 members) of the noon club, which meets Wednesdays at noon at Café Olé on Cross Creek Blvd.

Current club president and longtime member Valerie Casey says that over the first two years of the Noon Rotary’s “Cycling for our Vets, Military & First Responders,” nearly $15,000 has been raised to support the club’s selected charities and this year, the 4-, 18- or 39-mile ride will be held on Saturday, March 19, 8 a.m., and will again take off from the Chili’s Grill & Bar located at 17643 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just south of the BBD entrance to Flatwoods Park.

The suggested donation to ride is just $30 per rider and the event will be limited to the first 100 riders. The deadline to pre-register is Sunday, March 13. Day-of registration begins at 7 a.m. and the rides will begin at 8 a.m. and will be staggered to allow longer distance riders go first. The event will go on, rain or shine.

This year’s fund-raising ride will benefit the Navy Seal Foundation, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Support the Troops and the Stay In Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center, which was featured on page 1 of our last issue. For more info about these great organizations, Facebook.com/NewTampaNoonRotary, NavySealFoundation.org, HCFRFoundation.org, OurTroopsOnline.com or StayInStep.org.

This year’s sponsors include Little Greek Restaurant; Firehouse Subs-Wesley Chapel; Gentle Care Dentistry, the office of Dr. Tom Frankfurth; Stifel Financial-Mike Wallace; USAA Insurance; Children’s Dentistry, the office of Dr. Greg Stepanski; State Farm Insurance-Joyce Coleman; Café Olé and this publication.

For more info, visit Active.com (search “cycling for vets”), Facebook.com/Cycling for vets, call Barry Shuman at (516) 523-2678, email Valerie Casey at ValCasey3@aol.com or see pg. 40 in the latest New Tampa issue.