Dear Friends,

June 17, 2018 will mark 10 years since the tragic loss of North Carolina State Trooper Shawn Blanton. As a special and unique way to honor my late husband on this milestone year, together with Shawn's mother and Blue Ridge Motorcycling Magazine, we are holding the Trooper Shawn Blanton Remembrance Ride.

Where your money goes:

Each year, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mission Children's Hospital in Asheville, NC admits more than 800 babies born sick or too soon. Some of these premature babies are so small they fit in the palm of a hand. Many of these babies must fight just to survive while others struggle with lifelong health problems. The Tye Blanton Foundation was founded in memory of our son Tye to help families stay afloat during their child's lengthy hospitalization.

Your support in this event will not only help us to honor and remember Trooper Shawn Blanton, but it will also play a key role in the success of helping to ease the lives of families in the NICU at Mission Children's Hospital. The proceeds from this event will benefit the Tye Blanton Foundation and ultimately be used in special ways across the NICU to comfort babies and to aid their parents during their stay at Mission Children's Hospital.

How your business can help:

• SPONSOR the event and showcase your business through a corporate donation
• DONATE in-kind items to support our riders and event experience
• RIDE with us!

With your partnership, the Trooper Shawn Blanton Remembrance Ride will be a thriving success!

Sincerest Appreciation,

Trooper David Shawn Blanton, Jr.

Trooper David Shawn Blanton, Jr. was shot and killed while making a traffic stop on I-40 near Canton, North Carolina on June 17, 2008. A struggle ensued during the stop and he was fatally shot.

The suspect took Trooper Blanton's service weapon and fled the scene where he also fired at an off-duty sheriff deputy who was assisting with the search. He was apprehended a short time later by deputies from the Haywood County Sheriff's Office and officers from the Canton Police Department. He was subsequently charged with capital murder. The suspect was convicted of first degree murder on October 14, 2010 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Trooper Blanton had served with the North Carolina Highway Patrol for two years and had previously served as a dispatcher for the Cherokee Tribal Police Department. Trooper Blanton was the first enrolled member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians to be a North Carolina State Trooper. He served with Troop G, District 5 in Haywood County.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation named a bridge on Interstate 40 at mile marker 31 in Canton, NC in honor of Trooper Blanton. The Tribal Council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians also named a bridge on the Cherokee Indian Reservation, over the Oconaluftee River in honor of Trooper Blanton, after dedicating the Shawn Blanton Emergency Operations Center to his name.

At the time of Trooper Blanton's dealth, he was survived by his wife, 2-week-old son, his mother, father and step-mother, three brothers and a step- sister. Trooper Blanton's son, Tye, passed away in October 2008, just 4 months after his father.

After Tye's passing from prematurity and multiple critical congenital heart defects, family and friends joined together and founded the Tye Blanton Foundation. Its mission is to help families stay afloat during their child's lengthy hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mission Children's Hospital in Asheville, NC.