During
the summer of 1982 several firefighters were visiting "Randy's Cycle
Shop" in Boylston, Massachusetts, and the subject of motorcycle clubs
came up. Some interesting discussions took place regarding the fact that
law enforcement personnel have a motorcycle club known as the "Blue
Knights" and a similar club for firefighters is non=existent. After this tire kicking session, owner Randy Wilson
suggested to Ed Wright, a firefighter from Northboro, Massachusetts, that he
stop talking about the lack of a club and form one instead.
Recognizing a good idea when he heard one, Ed Wright went home that afternoon
and made some hand printed posters inviting firefighters from the area to meet
and determine if there was enough interest to form a motorcycle club. On
August 17, 1982, Fire Chief Jack Pierce allowed a small group of motorcycle
enthusiasts to meet in Northboro Fire Headquarters to lay the ground work for
the formation of a motorcycle club.
On October 19, 1982, firefighters Colin Mackey, Bob Bourassa, Ed Wright, Roger
Wentzell, Dave Hamilton, Bob Goulet, David Hunt, Jon Tripp, Don Parker, Norm
Beausleil, and Chief Pierce met again. There was interest in promoting
the positive image of motorcycling while enjoying the camaraderie of other
firefighters. It was decided then that this group would be know as the
Red Knights Motorcycle Club.
News of this club spread like a grass fire. In July of 1983, a chapter
was formed in Connecticut. In October of that year, a second
Massachusetts chapter was formed. Soon applications came in from such
distant places as Nevada and Louisiana.
In August of 1983 the founding members realized the organization was rapidly
growing beyond their original expectations. To properly handle this
growth, they elected a committee to serve as a national Board of
Directors. With applications from Ontario and Saskatchewan, Canada, the
club became the Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club.
In 1984, the first convention was
held in Boylston, MA. Past conventions have been held in Indianapolis
(2000) and Daytona Beach, Florida (1999). This year's convention (2001)
is being held in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Future conventions are being
planned for Rhode Island (2002) and Montreal, Quebec (2003). As a result
of the seed planted in 1982 at "Randy's Cycle Shop" there are now 74
Red Knight Chapters in the U.S. and 11 chapters in Canada with over 1800
members.
Red Knights Alberta Chapter 1 became a
reality in the summer of 1998 when firefighters Don Brandon and Brian Hoekstra
discussed the possibility of an overnight motorcycle trip to Banff with some
of their fellow firefighters. They put up posters in all the fire halls,
announcing an overnight "bike" trip to Banff, and anxiously awaited
a response. Much to their dismay, no one responded! Later, that
fall, fellow firefighters began asking "How can we peddle our bikes from
Edmonton to Banff and back with just an overnighter?" Don and Brian
realized their mistake! Once everyone knew they were talking
motorcycles, several people became interested. Don contacted Gary
Nelson, President of the International Red Knights in January of 1999, and
formed the first Chapter in Alberta, known as Red Knights Alberta Chapter
1. Now when posters are put up in the halls about "rides",
they always include a picture of a motorcycle. In the first year, 1999,
Red Knights Chapter Alberta 1 had 30 members. During 2000/2001 the club
grew to 60 members.
The chapter is involved in charity
work, supporting the Firefighters Burn Treatment at the University Hospital,
in Edmonton, Alberta. With an evening of hypnotism, the chapter raised $3,100
and presented a check to the Firefighters Burn Treatment Unit.
Membership is made up of chartered,
active, associate, and social members. Within the Chapter, there are
members from Edmonton and the surrounding areas. We are also very
pleased to have Gord Steinke, of Global News, as an honorary member of the Red
Knights. Recently, during the summer of 2000, another Chapter in
Medicine Hat was formed. This new chapter is known as Red Knights
Alberta Chapter 2.
During one of the chapter's meetings, we
chose not to use the international crest but instead be unique and create our
own Alberta crest. Bob Harris created the new design which was approved
by the International Chapter. The crest appears on our posters,
t-shirts, and other apparel. With the growth of our chapter and the need
to distribute information effectively, we developed our own website.
