Nation Of Patriots Recognizes Countryside Auto Group
Countryside Auto Group and its president, Keith Ghanian, were recognized in a small ceremony earlier this week by Nation of Patriots Founder and Executive Director Bill Sherer, for the dealership’s 2016 and 2017 support of the Patriot Tour®. During the last two years, Ghanian and his team have contributed $7500 to the all-volunteer organization whose mission it is to honor the nation’s military personnel and provide financial assistance to veterans in need, Sherer confirmed today.
The Patriot Tour is the Nation of Patriots’ largest annual fundraiser, a 110-day, 14,500-mile journey of one American flag through all 48 continental U.S. states shepherded city-to-city on the back of a motorcycle and escorted by some 150,000 volunteer riders. It is a nationwide effort to pay tribute to and honor America’s Armed Forces, past, present and fallen, and to raise money for veterans in need.
“It seems like since U.S. involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has diminished, attention has fallen away from those who serve and have served in our Armed Forces,” said Keith Ghanian, president of Countryside Auto Group. “I hope that by supporting the Nation of Patriots I can help raise awareness on a local level of the challenges so many veterans face. It’s an important issue and we’re proud to be involved. Perhaps our involvement will inspire other area businesses to do the same.”
To date, $247,000 has been raised toward a 2017 goal of $250,000, Sherer said, and of that, $174,000 has thus far been distributed to 64 families in 26 states with another $25,000 slated for distribution later this week. The remainder will be distributed before year-end, he confirmed. Fourteen Wisconsin veterans and their families were among the recipients and “the $5000 contributed by Ghanian and Countryside auto group in 2017 provided some much-needed financial assistance to two of those Wisconsin families,” Sherer said.
The Nation of Patriots is an all-volunteer organization which means that 100 percent of the money raised during the Patriot Tour and other events throughout the year is put directly into the hands of veterans and their families, Sherer said. “Our 2018 goal is $300,000. We realize more and more every day that even at that level, we’re barely scratching the surface of the need.”
Founded in 2009 by Bill Sherer, the Nation of Patriots is an independent, non-partisan 501(C)3, non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide financial support to the families of wounded men and women who have volunteered their lives in the preservation, protection and future of the United States and its citizens. More information, volunteer and donor opportunities and a complete Patriot Tour schedule can be found at nationofpatriots.com.
