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
