 According to Salt Creek member David Awe, the October run was
a huge success and something that the club hopes will become an
annual tradition.The run started in the morning in New Holland.
The bikers took to the road, traveled to Cantrall, Kilbourne, Forest
City and Mason City during the day, and ended back in New Holland.
The group made several stops along the way, enjoyed a great day
doing what they all love and raised money for a good cause at the
same time.
"It was pretty cold that day, so we were surprised that so many
turned out," Awe remembered.
However, judging by the many photos that the club provided, it
was a bright day with the fall colors just starting to peek through
the woods. The route they took, which included travels along the
river in Mason and Fulton County, would have made for a perfect
setting for a fresh-air ride.
Awe said that when the group made it back to New Holland, they
spent the evening with live music and plenty of good food and fun
with their friends and fellow bikers.
Awe said that having the live music at the end of the day was a
big part of the draw in raising the funds for the American Cancer
Society. That was made possible by Slackers and their neighbor
across the street, the Village Pub.
"Slackers and Village Pub paid the cost of having the bands come,
and that really helped a lot," Awe said. For the evening, the music
was provided by the Rusted Guns and the Stranger Danger bands.
In addition to live entertainment, the group hosted a
half-and-half raffle. Awe said the winner of the raffle was Dave
Renfro. He won a total of $383 and gave it all back to the club for
their cancer drive. Awe said that was a pretty good chunk of money
and it was great that Renfro wanted to give it back.
Another fundraiser that evening was a silent auction with items
donated from a variety of sources.
And finally, Awe said there was a raffle for a whole hog plus
processing that was donated by Herman and Eric Schwantz of Schwantz
Farms in Lincoln. As Awe talked about this, another member of the
club chimed in, saying there were so many entries for that raffle
that they couldn’t fit all the names in their drawing drum. Awe
remembered and elaborated, saying they ended up having to dump the
names in a large box so they could get them all shook up for the
drawing.
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Awe said the Cancer Run was something that was important to the
A.B.A.T.E. club because they did it in honor of two very close
friends. He remembered Hank Podbelsek and Bob Rankin, who fought
hard battles with cancer. Awe said everything the club did was in
remembrance of them.
A.B.A.T.E. is an acronym for A Brotherhood Aimed Toward
Education. The club has several events during the year and raises
money to support different community activities. Awe said the next
thing coming up would be the A.B.A.T.E. toy drive.
The toy drive is an effort to collect new toys for local children
in need and is something the club does every year. Awe said they are
currently talking about doing something new this year but haven’t
firmed up their plans. What they would like to do is host an event
where the members can personally give gifts to the children.
In addition to the Christmas toys, the group also hosts a big
Easter event for kids each year, and they do a St. Jude fundraising
run each year.
When everyone was gathered for the photo op and check
presentation, those in the group included several members of the
Salt Creek club; Andy Evers and Jim Rankin, owners of Slackers;
Ladonna Perdue, owner of the Village Pub; Tom Hyde, club president;
Christi Gesner, club activity director; and Baird. Gesner presented
the check for $3,066 to Baird on behalf of the group.
Afterward Baird said: "We are very appreciative of the Salt Creek
group and their contribution. It sounds like they had a fantastic
event. And, we look forward to partnering with them going forward in
the fight against cancer."
[By NILA SMITH] |
