Loss of Broncos and parts is bad, but the saddest part of Karl's post to the Bronco mailing lists was that "Jason's Mom and Dad lost their house, all their belongings, except for a change of clothes and a few boxes with misc. papers in them (they had less than15 min. to evacuate), both shops/garages with thousands of dollars in tools, a couple of older boats, antique English motorcycles and countless memories."

BroncoRescue.org was honored to be able to participate with Mid-Atlantic Early Bronco Club in donating $1,000.00 towards their fund raising for the family. BR.org Committee Member, Brian Keeler, managed the effort as the MEB Treasurer. At last report, over $2,200.00 was raised by MEB, with the BroncoRescue.org check helping in a big way towards that total amount. Our best wishes go out to the Paule family.

BroncoRescue.org hopes to continue to be of assistance to Bronco owners suffering losses from natural and man-made disasters. Please contact Doc Lewis, the organization's Administrator, with any needs that come to your attention.

Almost immediately, the email traffic on the many Bronco-related mailing lists picked up speed with many inquiring about their friends in the impacted area. One of the first to step forward with concrete ideas for aid was Alan Kirshbom of Waukesha, WI, formerly of the New Orleans area and still an active member of DSEB. He readily agreed to assist Dr. Bruce Lewis, President of the East Coast Bronco Registry (ECBR), with a recovery plan entitled “Bronco Rescue” (www.BroncoRescue.org). Alan Kirshbom was named as Chairman of Bronco Rescue and Doc Lewis became the organization's Administrator. Chairman Kirshbom is responsible for ascertaining the needs of the Bronco owners across the entire Gulf Coast region, administering the funds collected, and accounting for expenditures. See bottom of page for donation options. We also have a committee of representatives from affiliated Bronco groups to assist Alan in this effort.

BroncoRescue.org is a loosely-knit organization that cares about the trials and tribulations of our fellow Bronco brothers and is attempting to raise funds for their rescue from the perils caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and other associated natural disasters. We offer our heart-felt condolences for the suffering and death of many along the Gulf Coast, but our primary focus is toward those of our Bronco fellowship. We pledge to promote interest and awareness among our circles of friends in assisting America's citizens of the Gulf Coasts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas who are members of known and established Bronco organizations, such as the East Coast Bronco Registry, Deep South Early Bronco Club, 2-Big Broncos, Lonestar Early Bronco Club, and Gulf Coast Area Bronco Owners group.

Phase One  involved making contact with several of the major Bronco vendors and they were quickly on board by pledging up to $1,000.00 each in matching funds from interested and concerned fellow-Bronco owners. During the first week of September 2005, the BroncoRescue.org website was launched by Doc Lewis and messages of need were sent to the major Bronco-related mailing lists. With the help of Chuck Atkinson of B. C. Broncos, James and Suzy Duff of James Duff Enterprises, Jeff Trapp of Jeff's BroncoGraveyard, Russ and Tom Wimmer of Tom's Bronco Parts, and Jim Creel of Wild Horses, individuals with an interest in Broncos were asked to donate a minimum of $100.00 each. The vendor sponsors agreed to "match" each member's donation by contributing $25.00 to the Bronco Rescue fund. Before the end of September,  Phase One  of BroncoRescue.org was complete. More than two dozen individuals and clubs had contributed over $5,000.00. The vendor sponsors, true to their word, quickly sent the matching funds and before too long, the total available funds had grown to nearly $10,000.00.

Phase One  reached a time of transition on September 22, 2005, with Hurricane Rita closing in on the LA-TX state line. With the Katrina relief fund standing at $8,929.00, as detailed on our accounting spreadsheet, Brian Keeler, a long-time personal friend, indicated that the Mid-Atlantic Early Bronco Club was examining ways to offer further assistance in the relief efforts. Continued discussions have lead us to jointly launch Phase Two!

Although the rescue funds were available in good quantity in a timely fashion, finding ways to get the funds to the impacted individuals proved daunting. With no electricity, no phone service, limited cell phone availability, limited access to financial institutions, and limited distribution of postal mail, it was late September before the first disbursements could be made. Some eleven different individuals from Beaumont, TX, to Biloxi, MS, were sent $4,750.00 in a first wave of funds during late September through early October 2005. Another wave of funds of about $3,000.00 was disbursed during early December 2005. This means that a total of $7,750.00 has found its way into the hands of the deserving. Here is the story, with color pictures, of one of those impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Randy Ford of Slidell, LA, a member of the Deep South Early Bronco Club, sent these materials to Chairman Alan Kirshbom, along with several pictures of his two Early Broncos. These items recently appeared in Bronco Driver magazine, Issue #20, pages 56-57, and have been used with the permission of Randy Ford.

Phase Two  is made possible by the generous help of MEB President Gary Gibson and the club's Board of Directors. They have eagerly offered to "match" funds! Communicated by MEB Treasurer Brian Keeler, MEB's Board of Directors has approved a donation $250.00 for the Bronco Rescue fund. They want to encourage folks that can't afford $100.00 to give what they can. MEB will match the next $1,000.00 of donations with a $250.00 donation from the club's treasury. The minimum donation is $10.00. Additionally, MEB will pay all of the PayPal fees of approximately 3% on this $1,000.00. (Obviously, if you mail a check to Alan Kirshbom, those fees are not incurred.) Once the $1,000.00 mark is reached, MEB will send a check for $250.00, plus the PayPal fees.

GREAT NEWS:  Dan Wright of CA has joined us in supporting the  Phase Two  $1,000.00 matching challenge by offering an additional $500.00 matching grant. His partnership with MEB means that the total matching funds would be $750.00, once our contributors help us reach the $1,000.00 challenge goal.

Funds donated after the  Phase Two  and MEB $1,000.00 project will be added to Phase Three. Donations larger than $100.00 will also be added to  Phase Three. The minimum donation amount during  Phase Three  will continue to be $10.00 and will be the net after the PayPal fees are paid.  Phase Three  may possibly include moves toward incorporation as a non-profit organization and/or 501(c)(3) tax exemption status with the IRS. We have intentions to continue our relief efforts for natural and man-made disasters that might effect Bronco owners in the future.

These sponsors "matched" member donations! For individual donations of a minimum of $100.00, each of these five Bronco vendors donated $25.00 to the Bronco Rescue fund. (Full details are available on our accounting spreadsheet.	http://www.bcbroncos.com/ 12875 Highway 138 Hesperia, CA  92345 phone: 888-304-2945 fax: 760-389-2249 Chuck Atkinson, owner
http://www.jamesduff.com/ James Duff Enterprises, Inc.  261340 Highway 101  Sequim, WA 98382-9248  phone: 360-683-2160  fax: 360-683-0159   Suzie Duff, Director of Marketing	http://www.broncograveyard.com Jeff's Bronco Graveyard  PO Box 227  South Lyon, MI,  48178  phone1: 248-437-5060  phone2: 248-486-1760  fax: 248-437-9354  Jeff Trapp, Owner
http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com Tom's Bronco Parts  2294 Sage Road  Medford, OR  97501  phone: 541-779-1339  fax:  541-779-4119  Tom Wimmer, Owner Russ Wimmer	http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/ Wild Horses  640 North El Dorado  Stockton, CA  95202    phone: 209-943-0991  fax: 209-943-7923  Jim Creel, Owner

http://www.deepsoutheb.com/ Group Leaders: J. D. Foster Dave Hunt	http://www.2bbdixie.org/ The Dixie Chapter of 2-Big Broncos includes North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Florida. Chapter Leaders: Jim Westcot, Bronco Rescue committee member Rick C. Wojciechowski, Bronco Rescue committee member
http://www.gcabo.com/ Group Leaders:  Marty Copeland, Bronco Rescue committee member Robert Stephens, Bronco Rescue committee member	http://www.ecbregistry.org Dr. Bruce Lewis, President of ECBR and Administrator of Bronco Rescue phone: 731-658-7093 Alan Kirshbom, Chairman of Bronco Rescue
http://www.lonestar-ebc.com Paul Cotey, President Bronco Rescue committee member J. T. Tonne, Vice-President Walter Cox, Treasurer

http://www.broncodriver.com/ Bronco Driver Magazine P.O. Box 30806 Knoxville, TN  37930-0806 phone: 865-690-0522 fax: 865-690-4941 Adam Harris, Editor John Goethert, Publisher Tom Broberg, Publisher	http://www.earlybronco.com/new/ Early Bronco Registry voice or fax:  858-530-2471 Steve Sampson, Editor
http://www.broncofix.com/ John Lindblom, Administrator	Midwest Vintage Bronco Club c/o Shawn Rice 9116 Upton Ave. S. Bloomington, MN  55431 http://www.midwestvintagebronco.com Kurt Loftfield, Admin.
http://www.bronco.com/ Shannon Shirk, Admin.	http://www.broncozone.com/ Dana Nevins, Admin.
http://www.lonestar-ebc.com Paul Cotey, President Bronco Rescue committee member J. T. Tonne, Vice- President Walter Cox, Treasurer	http://www.earlybroncos.com/ Gary Gibson, President Michael Kupec, WebMaster Brian Keeler, Treasurer Bronco Rescue committee member
66 to 77 Morton Grove, IL 773-354-0007 http://www.66to77.com/ John Foersterling	http://www.bulletproofsteering.com/ Randall Thomas, Owner