May 2008 Editor's Letter

May 2008 Editor's Letter
Do Good and Have Fun
by Steve Earle
By the time you read this, I will have completed my 17th MS 150. As many of you know, the BP MS 150 is a two-day bicycle ride from Houston to Austin pedaling through the rolling hills and wildflowers along the way. If you start at Tully Stadium and have trained, it is 171 miles of the most fun you can legally have. The serious side of this ride is that it is the largest fundraising event of its kind in the country, with a goal this year of $14 million to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Lone Star Chapter. Houston actually is a great fundraising city and the corporate teams really get into the friendly competition here.
My point is not to generate more interest in this event, it is doing fine on its own, but to tell you that Houston has a big heart when it comes to worthy causes. And that you can have a great time while helping out. There are plenty of excellent examples. When Katrina came through New Orleans, Houston took in more of the displaced than any other city outside of Louisiana. The HGS was a part of that effort, organizing food, clothing and office space for our displaced brethren.
So when Paul Babcock and Walter Light approached me about reinvigorating our community service effort, I readily agreed to help. We plan to participate in a few modest projects for 2008 including a tree planting day, helping at local food banks and building bikes with Elves and More at Christmas-time. We hope to build on this in 2009.
If you are interested in being part of any of these HGS projects, please contact Walter Light at wthunderx@aol.com or me at hgs_editor@earthlink.net. We will put your name on a list and send out e-mails to solicit for volunteers as new opportunities come up. We could also use a few people who want to be more actively involved in planning and organizing such events.
Please lend a hand as HGS helps the community and we can all have a great time doing good.