John Zorn, organizer of the Gantt Mafia Wounded Warrior Benefit Ride, said that this year’s ride was better than last year, thanks to the weather.

“I think the predictions about some people showing up because of the rain were right,” Zorn said. “But we still had a great time. The rain didn’t show up until we were about four miles away from the end of the ride. We got about 200 yards away from the end of the ride and then the bottom fell out.”

Zorn said that several people showed up for just the auction part of the day.

“We had about 54 bikes,” Zorn said. “But a lot of people just showed up for the auction part of the day and they all had a great time as usual.”

The Mafia raised around $7,687 this year, which is slightly lower than last year, but Zorn said that every penny goes to the Wounded Warrior Project and that is all that matters.

“We started this three years ago because we had a recipient in the Wounded Warriors Project,” Zorn said. “His grandmother contacted us and told us that he benefitted from the program so that’s what got us started.”

He said that veterans’ awareness has gotten better over the years thanks to programs like the Wounded Warrior Project.

“I think a lot of people are focusing more on helping veterans,” Zorn said. “We are helping them out more because of programs and rides like this and I think that is great.”

Wounded Warrior Project is a charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following Sept. 11, 2001. It operates as a nonprofit  organization.