Hollister residents, many of you may not know, or have heard
about it, but this past week November 14-20, was Top Hatters MC
week in Hollister.
This year marked the 10-year anniversary of this honor,
designated by the city of Hollister in 1999.
Aaron Lawe
Hollister residents, many of you may not know, or have heard about it, but this past week November 14-20, was Top Hatters MC week in Hollister. This year marked the 10-year anniversary of this honor, designated by the city of Hollister in 1999.
I didn’t notice any mention of this special week for the Top Hatters, and strongly believe that our community needs to mark this occasion and give our support and thanks to these guys who quietly go about their business of bettering our town.
As a matter of clarification, I am not a club member, and other than sharing their company on a few poker runs, I cannot, nor pretend to, claim any affiliation.
These guys are our neighbors, and in some cases, our community leaders. The Top Hatters are one of the oldest Motorcycle Clubs in America, and Hollister claims to be the “Birthplace of the American Biker.” Hollister needs to recognize, congratulate, to say thank you for all of the ongoing contributions made over the years by the Top Hatters.
Some of you may be wondering what these guys do to better our community. Please allow me to share some of their contributions, and mission statement. This is taken directly from their website, www.tophatters-mc.com, which they graciously gave me permission to borrow from.
“The Top Hatters Motorcycle Club is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise funds through our events to contribute back into the community to assist those less-fortunate members of our community. Some of the organizations the Top Hatters Motorcycle Club has donated to are:
– San Benito High School Scholarship Program
– San Benito High School FFA Program
– Free Wheelers
– Senior Citizen’s Thanksgiving Turkey Raffle
– Jovenes de Anteaño
– Meals-on-Wheels
– Highway Clean Up Program
– San Benito Food Pantry
– Adopt-A-Family
The Top Hatters Motorcycle Club strongly supports and makes an annual contribution in hopes of making a significant donation to our needy families of San Benito County. Currently our county food program serves more than 371 families each month with 516 children each week. That’s for over 1,161 served less-fortunate families than most of this viewing public.”
For December, the Top Hatters are holding their annual Food Drive. There is going to be a poker run on Dec. 5, details can be found on their website. Aside from donating food items at the poker run, The Top Hatters have drop off’s for canned foods or non-perishables donations at the following locations: Whiskey Creek Saloon (201 5th St.) & 843-E San Benito Street. We all feel the crunch of leaner times; however, there is always someone around the corner, someone you probably know, that could use some help.
So Hollister residents, when you see a Top Hatter around town, take a moment to thank them for their contributions: Better yet, drop of a few canned goods or other non-perishable items to help their cause, and by doing so you will help the Top Hatters in their mission to make life a little better for the less fortunate residents of Hollister and San Benito County.
Aaron Lawe is a Hollister resident.
