Happy Trails News Release! Your chance to have a free fully equipped KLR courtesy of Tim and Happy Trails

Boise, Idaho – April 1, 2011. The Happy Trails Products Company announced today a special project for 2011 to say Thank You to U.S. military men and women for service to their country. An active member of the U.S. armed forces or an honorably discharged veteran will be selected from a pool of applicants to receive a free, highly modified, near zero mileage, 2009 Kawasaki KLR650 equipped to tour North America and beyond.

The modified Kawasaki KLR650 will include over $1,500 in upgrades including: Happy Trails Aluminum Panniers, Happy Trails PD Nerf protection system, Happy Trails Fork Brace and other popular accessories made for the KLR650 by Happy Trails Products.

Applications will be available online at www.happy-trail.com beginning June 1, 2011, and must be submitted by September 30, 2011. An advisory panel will select the lucky recipient and the bike will be presented to the new owner on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2011, at the Happy Trails Products world headquarters, 11777 W Executive Drive, Boise, Idaho. In making the announcement, Tim Bernard, co-owner (with wife, Sherry) of Happy Trails Products said:

“Sherry and I grew up in the mining town of Weed Heights close to Yerington, Nevada. I served in the Army National Guard. It was the time of the Vietnam War. We were surrounded by friends and relatives who went off to war young and full of life, but came back changed. Some were changed for the better, some not for the better and some came back aimless with no clear goals.

I look back at that time with some guilt. I was never proud of serving in the Guard. I joined more from a sense of wanting to belong to something, not because I had a burning patriotic desire or sense of duty to my country.

As I have grown older and gained experience in life, I understand death in a different way. I have a clear sense of the value of life and the significance of offering it up for what one believes. There have been poignant reminders:

Tom, a Boise man (himself a Vietnam Vet) who struggled with his son’s decision to join the Army—later this same son became the first to be buried in Boise’s new Idaho State Veterans Cemetery; the Vietnam Vet I helped in our shop a few
weeks ago struggling to cope with PTSD each and every day; a cousin's son who will require care for life after suffering wounds while deployed in the Middle East; the neighbor’s daughter who narrowly survived a Humvee IED attack; and
finally, my nephew, Austin, who chose to deploy for an additional 14 months to work at armoring Humvees for the protection of others.

These experiences and others have made me want to make a real and also symbolic gift. Sherry and I, on behalf of the entire staff of Happy Trails want to make a gesture in Giving Thanks to those who have and are serving our country
in the U.S. military. We think of it as a gesture of healing, praise and thanks grounded in our faith. To God be the Glory.”

Contact:

Tim Bernard
Happy Trails Products
11777 Executive Drive
Boise, ID 83713
208.377.8771
800.444.8770
tim.bernard@happy-trail.com