26th Annual

B.J. Stelly Bike Blessing

April 16

About

The 26th Annual B.J. Stelly Bike Blessing

Riders and their iron horses park on a section of Procter Street and at the entrance to the Port Arthur International Seafarers Center on Houston Avenue as the Rev. Sinclair Oubre raises his hands and offers blessings along with a few light-hearted jokes.

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Registration

Registration opened March 5 online and will also be available onsite the day of the event, beginning at 8 am. The registration fee of $25 benefits the PAISC.

Register here

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Drawings, Games

A 50/50 drawing and a mystery gift drawing will be held before the blessing. Hang around after for Bingo. Donations benefit PAISC.

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Ride Photos

After the blessing, riders visit locations in the area and document each stop with a photo. Send photos to PAISC to receive raffle tickets for a final drawing.

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Who is BJ Stelly?

BJ Stelly began volunteering at the Port Arthur International Seafarers’ Center in the mid 90’s. He was a recovering alcoholic and addict who truly wanted to give back to society and to help others who had addictions. He found that it was difficult to hang out with friends, as many wanted to go to bars, and he knew that he needed to stay away from those places. So, when he discovered the Seafarers’ Center, he fell in love with the work. He made himself available to drive seafarers at any time of the day and was content to smoke and drink coffee at the Center between drives.

If a seafarer seemed to have a little too much enjoyment of alcohol, he was happy to share the AA Program with him. In fact, he established some AA Meetings at the Seafarers’ Center.

He assisted us with the first Bike Blessing in 1995. Sadly, he was in a motorcycle accident one evening on the way to New Orleans. After two years of volunteering at the Seafarers’ Center, we determined that the Bike Blessing should be renamed in his honor.

Organizers