Friday, March 1, 2013

Poker run to benefit local veteran

OFF THE WIRE
Organizers of the Spring Rally, a new poker run and concert event in Rustburg, aim to raise $10,000 for local veterans.

The Spring Rally, hosted by the POW/MIA Riders War Veterans Motorcycle Club is set May 11 and will travel through Rustburg and Bedford.

All proceeds generated by Spring Rally Poker Run go to the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program. The program helps veterans and their families obtain access to healthcare, benefits, housing, support groups, transportation, employment assistance and more. VWWP, which is supporting the event, said all money raised will be dispatched to veterans in this region, which includes Nelson, Amherst, Bedford, Campbell and Appomattox counties and Lynchburg.

“At the end of the night we would like to hand them a check for $10,000,” said Tom Bushley, one of the event’s organizers. A portion of Southbound Jamboree’s proceeds from the Spring Rally concert will be donated to the VWWP. Donors, vendors and sponsors are invited to join the event to help raise funds for local veterans.

The POW-MIA Riders WVMC, Rolling Thunder Chapter 4 of Lynchburg, Lynchburg Chapter of Pagan’s Motorcycle Club, Stonecutters Chapter of Widows Sons International and Iron Horse Cavalry/ABATE of Virginia and the Central Virginia Community College Student Veterans Organization are involved in the event. Car drivers and motorcycle riders are invited to participate in the Poker Run, which costs $15 to $20, depending on your ride.

“I’m hoping for at least 2,000 people,” said Henry Crank, one of the event organizers. Crank and fellow organizers said they intend to establish a family-friendly event that draws riders back to the Lynchburg area year after year. Hopefully it will become like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, said Crank. That motorcycle rally, now in its 73rd year, draws more than 400,000 visitors to South Dakota.
Registration for the Poker Run begins at 8:30 a.m. May 11 at Southbound Jamboree on Wards Road in Rustburg about a mile past Calohan Road. Southbound Jamboree is a concert venue at the Turpin Fuel Company. The site hosted a series of summer concerts last year.

Bikes depart at 10:30 a.m. The run will be uncontrolled in an effort to keep traffic flowing and make the ride welcoming to beginners, who may be less comfortable riding in large groups. Organizers plan to have digital signage along the route to alert drivers of the event. Prizes for the best and worst poker hands will be awarded at the end of the run.

The Harley-Davidson on Timberlake hosts the second stop at about 11 a.m. The D-Day Memorial in Bedford will offer riders a guided-tour on the third stop at about 12:30 p.m. RTs Custom Cycles Parts and Services on U.S. 460 in Bedford hosts the fourth stop. The Poker Run concludes at Southbound Jamboree.

“We just want to ride with people and support the causes we believe in,” Bushley said.

Southbound Jamboree will host Comedian Jeremy Meador and live music from Blackout, Green Grass Rollers and Pete Turpin & Friends. The concert, $7 per person, will feature food, beverages and vendors. Gates open at 3 p.m. Music begins at 4 p.m.

For more information, to become a vendor, sponsor or to register, call Tom Bushley at (434) 429-1632. All donations are tax deductible.

POW/MIA Riders War Veterans Motorcycle Club Spring Rally Poker Run:

May 11

8:30 a.m. registration begins

$15 per bike/$20 per couple/$20 per car/$5 extra hand

Southbound Jamboree, 10472 Wards Rd. Rustburg VA

Harley-Davidson of Lynchburg, 20452 Timberlake Rd., Lynchburg, VA

National D-Day Memorial, 3 Overlord Circle, Bedford, VA

RTs Custom Cycles Parts and Services, 1032 Triggs Rd. Bedford, VA.

Southbound Jamboree, 10472 Wards Rd. Rustburg VA

Spring Rally Concert

Gates open at 3 p.m., music at 4 p.m.

May 11

Southbound Jamboree, 10472 Wards Rd. Rustburg VA

$7 per ticket


http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/article_19680462-7b0e-11e2-a049-001a4bcf6878.html