Grand Tour

When the club was young, the easiest way to tell others about it was by word of mouth. This meant that the members had to get out to visit other firefighters, and one of the best ways to do that was to visit Fire Stations. Someone came up with the idea of rewarding members who made a certain number of visits with a certificate and a pin. Proof of these visits was needed and so the idea of Grand Tour was born. After visiting Fire Stations beginning with the letters G R A N D T O U R members were given a pin. Over the years, other rides were added, RED KNIGHT and FIRE HOUSE rides and for members from remote areas, a ride to visit TWELVE STATIONS beginning with any letter of the alphabet. For those who want the ultimate, you can choose the ALPHABET tour which includes all the letters in the alphabet. WOW!

In the spring of 2009, it was decided to make some changes to the program. After numerous inquiries as to why we did not have a separate pin for each of the rides available, it was decided that we would offer a three inch patch (of the same design as the pin) with a rocker for each of the rides. A database will be kept to track who has completed the rides. When you have completed your visits simply fill out the application form and return it with your pictures to the Grand Tour Chairperson and he/she will send you your certificate and patch and rocker (or just the rocker if you already have a patch). Note: At the Board Meeting in August of 2013 it was decided that members would no longer earn a pin for completing the four shorter rides but that the remaining pins should be given to guests (non-members) who might ride with members when completing a Tour. To that end, please indicate on the application form if a rider or passenger is a guest. Guests will then receive a certificate and a pin. Photo albums (physical and electronic) will be kept displaying pictures of everyone who has completed the Grand Tour and will be available for viewing at all future conventions (upon request only). Because of the large number of members completing rides and the number of photographs we now have on file, it is becoming harder to ensure that all the pictures will be at all future conventions (the 9 albums weigh almost 70 pounds). It was decided at the Board meeting in September of 2011 to scan all our photos and store them electronically. To that end we now have a new email address, grandtour@redknightsmc.com and we ask that, if possible, you send all pictures and applications there. Please make sure that your pictures are no larger than 100KB each.