About Us
Chapter 11 was formed by three members from Chapter 7 who lived in the Tampa area. Chapter 7 is a 2 hour ride North of Tampa in a small town called Beverly Hills in Citrus County. After 5 years of commuting, we decided to form a Chapter closer to home. We still consider Chapter 7 our mother Chapter and will continue to support each other’s activities. Chapter 6 is less than 100 miles away and we plan to have many joint activities with them as well.
In less than 30 days, we had over 30 prospective members and nearly completed all the steps to become incorporated as a non-profit in Florida and fully Chartered. We held our first Board Meeting on 21 Nov 2009 and our first General Membership Meeting on 5 Dec 2009. When the dust finally settled we had about 25 members to start our Chapter.
MacDill Air Force Base is the largest employer in Hillsborough County. There is a huge contingent of active duty and retired service members from all branches of the military that live in the Tampa area. Chapter 11s Brandon, Florida location is a suburb of Tampa and is in the middle of that population center.
Our Chapter has grown rapidly as we participate in local charities, veteran’s events, veteran’s organizations and introduce ourselves to local motorcycle groups and organizers. We have identified members to be our Chapter liaisons to the Hillsborough County Veterans Council and are integrated into the Hillsborough County veteran’s community.
Chapter
11 has exceeded all expectations in terms of participation in local events that
benefit veterans. There are far more
charitable events that we would like to participate in, but we are focused on
veterans and POW/MIA affairs. We
spearheaded fundraising efforts to build a magnificent Vietnam Memorial
memorializing Hillsborough County residents killed in Vietnam. Our first
successful POW flag rising was when we were able to convince the Tampa Sports
Authority to fly the POW flag during the Outback Bowl and eventually 24/7 over
Tampa Stadium for all events. We have supported veteran motorcycle clubs and
veteran organizations with their toy runs and fund raising activities. We
participated in a series of three events to raise money to build a custom
motorcycle and sidecar for a Special Forces soldier totally paralyzed from a
gunshot wound in Afghanistan. We participate in a quarterly event to honor
wounded warriors in Tampa called “Hearts to Heroes”. Our first contribution to
this program was an event that honored Army Ranger SSG Dustin Magner, paralyzed by an IED in Afghanistan. We are
participating with Operation American Pride in raising money for an
experimental Stem-Cell surgery in Portgual that was
denied by the VA.
Every
Chapter needs a cause they are passionate about to drive its members. We support a variety of veterans’ causes in
our area. Among them is the Special
Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF), Paws for Patriots, The Fisher House and
The Haley House Fund at James A. Haley VA Medical Center, James Haley VAMC
Recreational Services, The Liberty Manor residence for homeless veterans,
Freedom Excursions and the Viet Nam Memorial at the Hillsborough County Veterans
Memorial Park and Museum. We have 4 fundraisers each year. 100% of all money raised, after expenses,
goes to the designated charities. 1st
Qtr Paws for Patriots, 3rd Qtr Liberty Manor, 4th
Qtr Freedom Excursions. Our Golf
Tournament is our major fundraiser each year and is held in the 2nd
Qtr. That money pays our small operating
expenses and is donated to the remainder of our designated charities. We are all volunteers. Nobody takes a salary. Our meeting place is donated by the Masonic
Lodge of Brandon, FL. Our operating
costs are generally administrative.
We have been very fortunate to have been so well received by the community. Our objective is to serve the tri-county area of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas that makes up the greater Tampa Bay region.
Our mailing address is:
Rolling Thunder, Inc
Florida, Chapter 11
PO Box 1996
Riverview, FL 33568-1996