Help for our Dearest Friend

[Paul]

In early August of 2005, our friend, Shane Beard, was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. It is a relatively late diagnosis and he is only 34 years old.

Shane is an active member of the 4x4 community here in the North East. He was the first Vice-President of the North East Willys Jeeps Organization (www.newjo.org) and served two consecutive terms. He was also elected Vice-President of the Northeast Association of 4wd Clubs, Inc. (www.nea4wd.org) [EDIT: His term ended last year]. He also was a driving force in creating the web-based forum North East Online Wheelers (www.neow.org).

Through these endeavors he has touched countless lives and informed many 4x4 enthusiasts on the facts of legal four wheeling, and encouraged others to get involved with his understanding and easy going manner,. I am one of those people, among many others. Beyond his substantial contributions to the 4x4 community, he is very active in many other realms as well. Currently, he is a Cub Scout pack leader and a Certified Master Trainer for Tread Lightly®.

Faced with some major medical bills and lost income while not being able to work, Shane has decided that it is best if he sells his 1997 Jeep TJ. He has a wife, Vicki, of 11 years and two children, Savannah, 7, and Jacob, 10, to support as well.

The Beard Family's home is in dire need of help as well. his extended family is trying to come up with enough funds to tear down the converted camp that they currently live in and replace it with a much more modern manufactured home. This is so that he can face his fight full on and not have to worry about frozen pipes and a leaking roof.

Members of nearly all of the North East's Clubs are trying in every way to help out Shane and his family! It has been a truely wonderful sight to see!

A few of us have taken his TJ and are freshening it up a bit so it will bring in some more money than it would in it's current state.

There have also been members coming up in all of the construction Trades offering thier time and expertise. If the Family is able to swing a new home (with our help) there will be no lack of skilled labor to get it done by first snow fall.

A fund has been set up in his name for his current needs as well as his future medical bills.

PayPal is set up:

shanesfight@hotmail.com

Checks can be sent to:

Peter Beard /for Shane Beard Trust.
c/o TD Banknorth
11 School St
Hillsboro, NH 03244
Attn : Linda Blake


I am hoping that the powers of this community can help our friend and his family out with donations. Even a paypal of ONE dollar will help.

Last night he told his two kids. I am sure his heart ached as he did so. Mine does thinking about it.

http://www.shanesfight.com/ is his place to expound. Please check it out.

Please help out a fellow wheeler!

[Paul]

Credit: Preach for the write up.

Feel free to copy and paste to every site you can think of.

[jacodi]

[tammylynn]

Posted on our forum and will be on the front page of our site as soon as our VP can get it up there.

[rblank]

Words will never express any of the emotion we all feel .....

Nice work too all involved.

[Treasurer]

If you all do not know yet our portion of the Fall Crawl 50/50 raffle will go the Beard Fund. Tammy will be selling the tickets.

[tammylynn]

I am? I thought I was doing the list and t-shirts?

[Treasurer]

It is easier for me to handle the signing in and the t-shirts than roll around trying to sell raffle tickets. Just go around and hit everybody once them come back and do the shirts.