Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club

RKMC seal

The Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club (RKMC) is a motorcycle club for motorcycle firefighters and their families. It is the largest fire brigade motorcycle club in the world.

Anyone who drives a motorcycle can become a member of the RKMC. Life partners, spouses, children and siblings are accepted as "social members".

history

During the summer of 1982 various firefighters met in the "Randy's Cycle Shop" in Boylston Massachusetts ( USA ). They discussed the fact that law enforcement had set up their own motorcycle club, the Blue Knights , but there was still no motorcycle club for firefighters. In the course of that discussion, business owner Randy Wilson told Ed Wright, a Northboro, Massachusetts firefighter to stop talking about it and start a motorcycle club instead.

Excited by the idea, Ed Wright went home and made some hand-made cards to invite local firefighters. He planned to organize a meeting to see if there were enough people interested in starting a motorcycle club. On August 17, 1982, fire chief Jack Pierce allowed a small group of motorcycle-loving firefighters to meet at the fire service headquarters to prepare for the establishment of a motorcycle club.

On October 19, 1982, firefighters Colin Mackey, Bob Bourassa, Ed Wright, Roger Wentzell, Dave Hamilton, Bob Goulet, David Hunt, Jon Tripp, Don Parker, Norm Beausoleil, and fire chief Jack Pierce met again. It was decided that this group would be called the Red Knights Motorcycle Club .

In July 1983, a chapter was formed in Connecticut . In October of the same year, the second chapter was founded in Massachusetts . Soon there were foundations in distant places, such as B. Nevada and Louisianna . In August 1983, the founding members found that the organization's growth was quickly exceeding their original expectations. To properly handle this growth, they elected a board of directors, the National Board of Directors . With the founding of chapters in Ontario and Saskatchewan, the club became the Red Knights International Firefighters Motorcycle Club .

There are 350 chapters today and over 9,800 members worldwide.

RKMC

Membership types

The RKMC has the following types of membership:

Active member

Any fire brigade who has a valid motorcycle license and access to a motorcycle can become an active member of the RKMC. Active service in a professional, factory, military, airport or volunteer fire service is considered a member of the fire service. Even former firefighters who did their active service in a fire department e.g. B. have regularly quit for reasons of age, can also become or remain an active member of the RKMC. Rescue service personnel can also be included if they are employed by a fire department .

Charter member

In the case of a new chapter, all members who acquire their membership in the first year of the chapter's founding are listed as charter members.

Social member

Siblings, life partners or spouses, children from the age of 16 and the parents of Active Members can become members of the RKMC as social members.

Junior Member

Children and grandchildren of active and associate members can become RKMC junior members up to the age of 16.

Associate Member

The individual chapters can accept people who have no connection with the fire service as associate members. However, a maximum of 10 percent of the members of a chapter may be associate members.

Members at large

If there are not enough members in the area to found a chapter or if the next existing chapter is too far away, there is the possibility of becoming a direct member of the RKMC (Member at Large). The same membership requirements apply to MAL as to active members.

RKMC meeting in Switzerland

organization

Chapter

To found a chapter, at least 7 interested parties are required who meet the membership requirements as an active member. Each chapter elects its own board. The following board positions (officer) exist: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Road Captain. President and Vice President must be active members, the other 3 offices can be exercised by any member. Only Secretary and Treasurer are permitted as dual functions.

Regional Association

Several chapters can join together to form state or regional associations. The State Associations exist mainly in the USA, e.g. B. the Ohio Association. There are currently two regional associations. The first regional association unites the chapters in Australia and New Zealand , the second unites the chapters in Europe.

Memorial

RKMC memorial Boylston

The RKMC memorial is located in Boylston ( Massachusetts ), not far from the local fire station. It is the place where the RKMC was founded in 1982. The RKMC Chapter Massachusetts 1 began with the preparations in 2002, on August 18, 2007 the memorial was officially opened. In addition to a memorial stone commemorating the founding of the RKMC, there is also a memorial with the names of all deceased RKMC members.

In 2011 the international RKMC board succeeded in getting a piece of steel from the World Trade Center from the Port Authority of New York . The piece bears the numbers C-149 and N-176, so it comes from the area of the impact point between the 94th and 98th floor of WTC Tower 1. It was transferred from New York to Boylston in 2011 with an honorary formation June 2012 integrated into the RKMC Memorial with a solemn ceremony.

International Board

The RKMC is headed by the international executive board. This consists of four board positions of the RKMC as well as the eight regional directors. The executive offices of the international board are President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.

In addition, all eight regional directors belong to the international board. Each regional director is responsible for a region. The international board of directors is supported by a person responsible for the website and by committees.

Active and former members of the international board of directors wear a pin with the international RKMC seal as a distinguishing mark. Since 2014, the members of the international board have been marked with the “International Officer” patch.

The RKMC international presidents: