Founder
Steve Exceen
He was born in Medford, Oregon and raised in Roseburg, Oregon. After graduating from Roseburg High School in 1997, he joined The United States Marine Corps. He served a total of 6 years active. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, Camp Pendleton, California, and finally in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Heroism. He had a tragedy that happened to his family while on Recruiter Assistance. Where he lost in 4-month-old nephew and his father was burnt from the neck down.
After getting out of the Marine Corps in 2002, he went back to Roseburg for a short time. He ended up moving to Boise, Idaho where he currently resides. He has worked in the sales environment for 10 years. He decided that he wanted to further his education. He was a full-time student at College of Western Idaho / Boise State University and received a degree in Communication.
Steve is devoted with raising his daughter Sarai. His passions are spending time with her, riding his motorcycle, and working on his fitness goals. One thing that he has learned is that to have a healthy mind, you have to have a healthy body.
With the help of Doug and Debbie, they work hard to make a difference in the Veteran Community. By raising more community awareness for Veteran Suicide and helping families that have been left behind.
Co-founder
Debbie Knehr
Military Affliation:
The Military affiliation that I have is that my husband was in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years. We as spouses learn a lot about the Military when you have a loved one in.
What do you do currently?
Right now I work Part time so that I have more time to dedicate myself to Ride For 22. I was an Accounts Payable Coordinator for 15 years at Republic Services until September 2016.
Do you ride?
Yes, I ride a 2017 Can Am Spyder F3 T.
How I got involved:
Steve came to us in December of 2015 and explained to us about his friend Brandon and how there are 22 Veteran’s a day that die by suicide due to PTSD, and he wanted to get a ride put together to get the Awareness out there. And of course I said yes, and we have continued to do it. We are somewhere every week. And WE will continue to get the word out and try and get our VETERANS the help that they need!
Co-founder
Doug Knehr
Do you have any Military affiliation:
I am a veteran of 20 years retired Air Force. I was a Crew Chief (mechanic) on B52D model Bombers, KC135A frame aerial re-fuelers and B1-B Bombers. I traveled all over the world and even had several tours to the desert. All in all I was away from home approx. 7 months a year for my entire career, would I do it again, in a heart beat!
What do you do currently:
I currently work at Western Aircraft as a Lead Technician/ Project manager and have been there for 20 years.
Do you ride if so what or future purchase:
I’ve owned several street bikes from Hondas, Suzuki and Yamahas, I currently own a 2012 Harley Street Glide I purchased new and now has 37,000 miles on it, I love that bike.
How did you get involved in Ride for 22:
I was at a charity event for a different organization and started talking to some people about bikes and met this guy (Steve) who said he rode but didn’t have anyone to ride with. Before I knew it we were great friends and riding almost every weekend doing all kinds of charity runs. One day he came to me and told me of a child hood friend and brother Marine of his that took his own life, of course he was devastated. He did some research and found the Organization “22 too Many”. He told me about the Org. I looked it up and was blown away at the statistics and the fact that like me hardly anyone knows about the devastating numbers these are. Steve knew he had to do something to change this so he enlisted me to help organize a ride to raise awareness about these numbers and money to help vets in need at the veteran’s home. Our first event was a success with thanks to High Desert Harley and all the money raised went straight to the vet home. Steve still wasn’t satisfied!!! That’s when he came up with the idea to start a local organization to not only bring awareness and help the veterans home but other local programs/organizations and the families left behind by those that paid the ultimate price.
Secretary
Shelby-Lyn Besler
Shelby-Lyn was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Boise, Idaho. She is a dependent child of her father serving 26 years and both her grandfather's serving 30+ years. During that time she was able to enjoy traveling and learning about most parts of the world with her father.
In between her travels after high school she went on to college at University of Idaho and Boise State University where she obtained her bachelor's degree in psychology. Working at the local hospital for a couple years, she decided to go back to school through American Public University and receive her master's degree in business management, Human Resources.
Shelby-Lyn enjoys being a dog mom to two German Shorthaired Pointers (Rockie and Ridge), spending time with family and friends, playing volleyball in her free time and also working at a local brewery for fun and great drinks!
She has been volunteering for the Ride for 22 event since 2017 and finds a lot of passion and love in being a part of this amazing organization to bring awareness to Veteran Suicide and giving back to families who have lost a loved one to suicide.