Love of country expresses itself in many ways.

It was expressed through the sound of rumbling engines Saturday, June 20, as more than 60 motorcyclists participated in the Third Annual Freedom Run sponsored by the Old Mill Bar and Grill of Minnesota Lake.

The ‘Freedom Run’ is a motorcycle ride organized by Tricia Brown and Jane McGregor of Minnesota Lake, to raise funds for the non-profit, non-partisan organization called Minnesota’s Military Appreciation Fund or MMAF. This organization calls on citizens to show their respect and appreciation for the efforts made by Minnesota military personnel deployed in combat zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It provides cash grants for these soldiers as well as to the families of those who have been killed in combat.

About four years ago, Brown and McGregor were looking for something different to do other than coordinate just another mystery ride with their biker friends.

“We wanted to do a bike run in which the majority of the money raised would go directly back to the people,” recalls McGregor. “We were just sitting around one night looking for something different to do. We got to looking at what was going on in the world when we stumbled upon the website (thankmntroops.org) that tells the story of how people can thank fellow Minnesotans who are in the service and their families.”

“Once we got to looking the website over, we were pretty impressed with MMAF,” says an enthusiastic Brown.

For more of this story, see this week’s Register.