Local veterans received a bit of a boost this past weekend from both local motorcycle riders and enthusiasts.

McMunn and Yates Building Supplies partnered with Commandos Canada Red River chapter, and held a motorcycle show and shine on Saturday, May 6th. At this event, they raised over $2500 for the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #65 and the Army Navy & Air Force Veterans In Canada.

Natasha Ralph, the store manager, says that it was a great event that made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"It was heartwarming. When we saw a bunch of different bike clubs represented there, a lot of spectators from within Portage and the surrounding areas just came, had a look at the bikes, supported the barbeque and bought some shed tickets."

At this event, they were also selling raffle tickets for a shed made by one of Portage's local resources for men's mental health, Portage Men's Shed. Ralph says if you would still like to buy raffle tickets, they have only sold two-thirds of the tickets and that you can not only buy them at McMunn but also various people in the community have books as well.

The store manager says that they started planning this event three years ago but, like many other events, was put off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"There was a gentleman who went across Canada helping other veterans with home renovation projects and he was helping the previous president in Oakville," she continues. "Of course, the pandemic happened, so we got pushed off a couple of times and we just kept with it. We knew it was going to help a lot of our local veterans, so we just pushed through and three years later, here we are."

Ralph notes that they have already raised $2500. However, the full totals are not tallied yet. All of the money raised so far is one hundred percent profit as Prairie Abattoir donated the meat used for the barbecue.

The manager goes on to say that she is thankful for all of Portage's support and cannot wait to do this event again next year.