Motorcycle enthusiasts can cruise with the Blue Knights MS IX motorcycle club during the 6^th annual Angel Tree Motorcycle Run on Saturday.

The Blue Knights is a law enforcement motorcycle club that promotes motorcycle safety and raises money for charitable organizations year-round. With over 20,000 members worldwide, David Ervin, president of the Blue Knights MS IX chapter, said they are dedicated to helping those in need while endorsing safe riding practices.

The effort has been held for the past six years in collaboration with First Baptist Church of Carriere to raise money for the Angel Tree Ministry. The ministry’s goal is to provide Christmas present to children whose parents are incarcerated. “This is such a great cause and we are honored to be able to be a part of it. They provide a great and merry Christmas for these children and we are thrilled to be able to help,” Ervin said.

Motorcyclists interested in participating in the ride can meet at the First Baptist Church of Carriere. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and costs $20 per motorcycle and includes lunch after the ride. Kickstands go up at 10 a.m.

During the two-hour cruise, participants will see the back roads and the countryside of southern Mississippi.

“I want to go on a route that no one has been on and see a scenery no one has seen,” Ervin said. “Riding is so pure. When on the countryside, you see, smell and hear things that you can’t experience any other way. On a motorcycle, you take in more of the world and it gets even better when you are with a group of people who enjoy riding just as much as you do.”

Along with helping children in need through the Angel Tree Ministry, Saturday’s ride will be dedicated to longtime First Baptist Church of Carriere pastor Bro. William Gary Smith.

Smith, who passed on June 17, 2016, was the pastor at the church for 53 years. According to Smith’s obituary, he began “To Learn the Bible,” a televised ministry in 1970—which is still broadcast today—and started the Bible Quiz Ministry in the Picayune Item and Hattiesburg American—which still runs in both publications. Also, Smith established the Carriere Volunteer Fire Department.

“He was a very, very, very great man and one of the most personable pastors I’ve ever known. Whenever he wasn’t preaching, he was visiting someone who was sick or in need. He was just a great person for this community and deserves our recognition,” Ervin said.

For more information about the Angel Tree Motorcycle Run, call the First Baptist Church of Carriere at (601) 798-6301 or contact David Ervin at (601) 337-4050.