Celebrating a Successful Ride

Riders and supporters of the annual Merchants Bank Christian Elder Memorial (CEM) 900 charity bike ride, of which Elder-Jones is an associate sponsor and many of our employees participate in, gathered this week to celebrate the success of this year’s ride. Three teams of riders pedaled over 560 miles (900 kilometers) during the 9 day ride, and raised $40,000 for Kids ‘n Kinship! The CEM 900 ride has raised more than a half million dollars for Kid ‘n Kinship in its 18 years.

CEM 900’s title sponsor, Merchants Bank of Apple Valley, hosted a welcome home reception where Kids ‘n Kinship’s new Executive Director Alicia D. Crudup spoke to the gathering about the work their organization does to help youth in need of an adult friend and role model, and she expressed appreciation for the 18 years of significant donations and awareness that have been made from the charity ride.

John Elder, CEM 900 founder and Elder-Jones Chairman, gave an update on the ride itself. Each team’s journey was very cleverly documented in daily road diary updates on the CEM 900 website. Justin Elder, Elder-Jones President, also presented a large check to Alicia, in dimension as well as amount! After, everyone enjoyed lunch and refreshments provided by Merchants Bank.

To learn more about the wonderful work Kids ‘n Kinship does in our community visit their website at kidsnkinship.org. To donate to the CEM 900 or learn more about the annual charity ride, please visit their website at cem900.com.