The MSTA is now in its 41st year of existence, and with that amount of time there have been hundreds and hundreds of memories created by its members. Many of these memories are centered around events like STAR. STAR is our longest-lived event, and our largest year in and year out. Every year since the 1st one, there have been unique. t-shirts created for each STAR rally. For the 2nd time in our club’s history, someone has taken on the task of creating a quilt from the various t-shirts, and then raffling off the quilt for charity at the year’s STAR rally. The 1st one was done some 20 or so years ago and was won by the late Rock Rhodes. When Rock passed a few years later, his widow passed it on to Dave Gorman. Dave still has that quilt and has it displayed in his home office.
This year we did it again. Members from around the country sent in old STAR t-shirts that were then built into a king-bed sized quilt by MaryLu English, the sister of our current President, Patrick Mogavero. As a courtesy to the club, she did not charge for her labor and only charged for materials bought for the quilt, and the shop charges incurred by creating the final quilt. The quilt was laid out in sequential fashion with the oldest shirt at the top left, and the most current on the bottom right. Not every STAR was included, but there were over 20 different ones used. The middle panels have the front logos from the shirts proudly displayed in a like manner. The quilting shop finalized the job by doing small stars all over the quilt, front and back. It turned out beautifully!
The purpose of all this was to raise funds for the Ride for Kids foundation and the Dan Clark safety Fund. Two causes dear to the hearts of almost every MSTA member. Chances were sold at STAR for $1 each, 6 for $5 and the drawing was at the final banquet on Wednesday evening. After expenses for Ms. English were taken out, the Ride for Kids and the DCSF split the remaining $400 in proceeds! Ironically, our Ride for Kids coordinator, Geoffrey Greene, was the one holding the winning ticket!
I’d like to thank the following people for their kind donations of t-shirts: Don Moe. Fl., Micheal Steeman, Ca., James Spear, Az., Tom Murphey, NY., Roger Prince, Ma, and Glen Maxwell, In. Special thanks to MaryLu English who donated several weeks of labor to the building of the quilt and didn’t charge the club a dime for her time and efforts.