By JESSICA NICOSIA

For the C-S-E

AMSTERDAM — The AMVETS Riders held their third annual benefit motorcycle run this Sunday to support Work Vessels for Veterans. Just over twenty riders started at the Saw Mill Tavern on South Avenue in Schenectady at noon and moved on to American Legion Post 701 in Amsterdam, Hillview Tavern in Esperance, Jim’s Irish Harbor in Canajoharie, and ended at AMVETS Post 2000 in Fort Plain for a barbecue, raffles, and entertainment.  “Veterans Helping Veterans” was the event’s motto.

“They do such great work,” said Kate Green, a member of the AMVETS Post 2000 Auxiliary. “They’re the ones that are fighting for our freedoms. And sacrificing the ultimate, which sometimes is their life.”

The group works to make sure veterans in the community feel supported and have the tools to be successful once their military careers end, by choice or disability.

“We don’t want it to be like Vietnam where they’re coming over here being shunned,” said Steve Hentnik, two year AMVETS member. “We treat them like the heroes they are.”

Post 2000 has been holding a benefit motorcycle run since the AMVETS Riders were created three years ago. The national AMVETS organization chooses the charity that will be supported by local AMVETS riders across the country each year.

This year and last, the benefit donated funds to Work Vessels for Veterans, which provides opportunities and supplies to allow disabled veterans to make a living once they return home.

“They put disabled veterans back in business after they hit stateside,” said Joseph Ballas, AMVETS Post 2000 co-founder and active AMVETS rider. He tells the story of a double amputee who was given a blueberry farm by Work Vessels for Veterans, and now helps other disabled veterans get back on their feet by offering them jobs.

AMVETS is an organization open to all honorably discharged veterans of the American armed forces. The AMVETS riders are an internal community of motorcyclists that work to support the mission of the group as a whole.

Fort Plain’s AMVETS post was founded ten years ago by Joseph Ballas, Virgil “Mountain Man” Smith and Jim Christman. The Fort Plain AMVETS riders came together seven years later. Ballas still leads the group in their charitable endeavors. He is proud to say that New York has the second largest AMVETS membership in the country. Veterans from Caroga Lake, Fort Plain, Canajoharie, and the surrounding area make up the membership at AMVETS Post 2000.

In addition to their own fundraising events for veterans, AMVETS Post 2000 participates in runs and events by other local veterans organizations, including Amsterdam’s American Legion. Last weekend, both groups participated in a motorcycle run with 150 riders to raise money for the American Legion Legacy fund, which provides scholarships to the children of fallen soldiers.

“Back in the 1950s and 1960s there was a lot of respect for the veterans, but I think we got away from that for a period of time,” said Green. “I think we’re going back to that now. And our club is trying to.”