Memorial Day 2005
Poker Runs to Honor Our Vets & Troops
By Monk
There's lotsa pictures so give it time to load, please.
By Monk
Wow! What a huge turnout. Thank you so much to everyone that came out to support this awesome event, You've made a differance! Read on...
This is gonna be a kinda weird article since it's
really a reply to a letter we received after this
great event. Here’s the letter, just as we received
it - no editing done:
Dear Dixie Biker -
I have never been so scammed as when I went
on your sponsored Memorial Day Veterans
Poker Run starting at Sharkey’s on
Hwy 484. Fox Crossing was our third stop.
The people behind the bar said, “No one
informed us that you were coming!” We
waited for an hour and left without a card
drawing.
Upon getting to Trader Jack’s where
seven groups were converging, there was
only one very, very long food line (below
right) out to the road! This easily could
have been made into 3 or 4 lines to cut
down on the forty-five plus minute wait for
food. Then they ran out of food! How can
you run out of food at Trader Jack’s? It’s a
bar that sells food there! The sponsors
[Dixie Biker Illustrated] didn’t want to buy or borrow
food from Trader Jack’s.
I proudly served my country in Viet Nam. I support
the Veteran Runs. My patriotism was used to scam
me out of ten dollars. I want my money refunded now.
Mail my refund to...
James F., Silver Springs, Florida
I’m sorry you felt you were scammed, Mr. F.Obviously
you didn’t hear one of the six announcements we made
offering a $5 refund to anyone with a food ticket (Boots
makes one of the announcements below). 167 people
did hear those announcements and we refunded $865
(a couple of people turned in two tickets - “... for my
ol’ lady’s meal.” We didn’t argue. Hope they feel good
when lookin’ in the mirror.)
As for running outta food, it wasn’t a matter of us not buying more food from Trader Jack’s. They, and their generous suppliers, donated over 250 pounds of pork and 300 hundred hot dogs. Yes, that’s right - donated. Volunteers smoked it and served it to the bikers supporting the Veterans Run. It was simply that there was no more food. We planned for five to six hundred participants in the Run. When double that turned out, we were extremely pleased, but overwhelmed. When Becky, owner of Trader Jack’s saw the numbers coming in for the “End of the Run”, she walked through the throngs asking for volunteers to help out. Eight people from the crowd answered her request and helped out with food and beer tubs. “Just our way of doin’ something for the Troops, Monk,” they told me. Our hat’s off to them. Thanks. I wish I would got their pictures and names.
Since you didn’t get to draw a card at the Fox Crossing, you could’ve drawn as many cards as you needed to fill your hand at Trader Jack’s. Many did. We were also overwhelmed there, with only three people manning last card draw stations. But DH, DD, Hark and a couple of others out enjoying the run, just plannin’ to have a good time, stepped up to help without being asked. “Hey, y’all need some help? Look at all these people! Ain’t it great?!” “Yeah, man! You betcha we can use some help. Thanks!”
With their help, we managed to keep those lines
manageable, at least. I’m sure the Fox Crossing
was overwhelmed with the great show of support
for his run, as well. How could we anticipate over
150 sign ups at Sharkey’s Lounge? It’s very grati-
fying to see that huge turnout of Dixie Biker
readers, especially since we figured we’d only get
50 at Sharkey’s. Shoot, the only advertising we did
was in DBI and a hundred flyers. Oh, and as far as
them not knowing about the Run - every stop on
this run donated $25 and a door prize item for the
bikers supporting this event weeks before the
actual event. Maybe the bartender didn’t know, but
I know Janet and her crew did the best they could
under the circumstances. We’ve been to lotsa great events at her place, and they know how to handle crowds.
In advertising this event we guaranteed a $500 prize pool to pay out four places to winning hands. As we also promised in the advertising, we increased the prize pool since we had so many sign ups on the run. Yep, we kicked it up. Not a hundred bucks, not two hundred bucks. But to $1,300. And we paid out ten places instead of four. Of the winners, two people, yep, you read that right - only 2, donated a portion of their winnings back to the cause. Oh well. Wile E, a member of our staff, wrote a little blog about that, too. If you wanna read it, it's here: Where was I When...
Awards. Now that’s something else that didn’t go accordin’ to schedule. We said we’d get the awards out at 4 pm, one hour after last in. (Don’t ya just hate it when people hold off on the awards for several hours to get you to hang around and buy drinks and spend money even though you wanna get back on the road? Us, too.) Anyhow, we didn’t get to the awards til about 4:45. Yep, we were late. Once again, we apologize. Last in was scheduled for 3:00 o’clock, but Leslie, who handled the run you were on, called and said, “Man, oh, man, Monk! We’re runnin’ behind about thirty minutes! We had so many sign-ups! Please hold the awards and food!”
What shoulda we done different? We made an announcement to everyone, told them the deal with y’all’s run, and held off on the awards til everyone that paid for a hand got ‘em turned in. Oh, and with that many sign-ups and a run comin’ in late, how in the hell was I gonna get the hands tallied up in thirty minutes? Not to worry, Wile E, Road Runner, and a couple of readers stepped up and said, “Let us help. Monk.” They did and we appreciate it. Shit, I woulda been tallying hands til the sun set if they hadn’t volunteered to help out.
The same thing happened to me at the Handlebar & Grille, and to our other reps at their start locations, that morning. Sign-ups at the HB&G were from 10 til Noon. I got there and set up around 9:30 and there were already thirty or forty people lined up! “Wow - cool,” I thought, “how am I gonna handle this without them waitin’ an hour to sign up?” Not to worry. I felt a tap on my arm and then - “Hi, Monk. Pretty nice turnout for so early, huh? My name’s Morris the Cat, can I help you out?”
“Absolutely! Thanks! Pleased to meet you. Can you collect the money and hand out the waivers? I’ll fill in the card drawings, hand
out the beads, and go over the route maps with the participants. Oh, shit! Where’s the maps with the stops? They’re not in my
saddlebag. Damn.”
Wile E gives me a hand with awards. Yes - I'm wearin' my Sergeant Flash hat for the occasion.
Once again, a run participant, Donovon, from Orlando, interrupted his day of ridin’, offered to help, rode down to Albertson’s to make copies and brought back a hundred route maps. Thanks.
According to our writers, it was the same deal at each start location. A run partici- pant, a Dixie Biker reader, or a bar owner or employee stepped up and offered to help out our reps. I can’t begin to tell you what that means to us. That y’all take the time to help us; to let us know you appreciate our efforts; to let us know we’re just one of y’all, tryin’ to make good things happen for those that need some support. It’s why we do DBI, and it’s why we feel we have the greatest staff, and readers, helpin’ us with it every month. Our writers’re out there ridin’ with ya, hangin’ with ya, and supportin’ ya, and you returned it ten-fold with your support, not just with the help, but with the participation in the run. Y’all stepped in to help, interuptin’ your plans for the day, when you saw we were surprised with the numbers that turned out, and needed a hand. Thanks. Y'all're awesome.
Pictures by Chad, Leslie, Weebeasty, Dave C. and Monk
Though it’ll probably get me whacked up-side the head, I gotta put in a side note about our great staff. All but one, who had another commitment, made the run. hap-pen and worked it that day. Boots or I tried to give each of ‘em fifty bucks at the end of the day. Not to pay ‘em, but to at least help ‘em with gas and outta pocket ex-penses for all the time they spent runnin’ around plannin’ the event in their area, collectin’ door prizes, copyin’ flyers, puttin’ out flyers, etc. Not one of them, not a single one, would accept the money.
Matter-a-fact one said, “That’s an insult, bro. This is for the troops.” Our two daughters also gave up a Sunday with their families to help Boots at Trader Jack’s while I was out ridin’ with the group outta Orlando.
Anyhow, back to the event. While the hands were being tallied, and we were runnin’ a little behind, Boots and Dave and Wile E (above) started pulling tickets for door prizes. We promised over a hundred in our advertising. Well, thanks to our advertisers, and some that don’t advertise, we gave out over four hundred door prizes. Yep, 400! And they weren’t shitty little beer coasters or anything. We gave out over 100 T-shirts and hats; seven or eight $100 gift certificates from XXX Custom Cycles, Open Road Leathers, Biker Skins and others; six or seven knives; thirty or forty bar tab certificates worth over a thousand bucks; two $150 tattoos from Tattudio; three $100 tattoos from Tropical Tattoo; half day boat rentals from Nelson’s Fish Camp; billet parts from Alpha Machining; leathers; vests; mag lights; collectibles from Palatka Army-Navy; and gift certificates for service work or parts from many small shops throughout North Central Florida. I could go on and on. And then, when the boxes of door prizes were gettin’ close to empty, Charlie and Linda from Wallace Insurance stepped up with 150 American Flag bandanas they handed out.
Carolina Dave and Kim along the shores of Lake Monroe, headin' north to stop 2 at Otter's Riverside. I met them that morning, he asked about writin' for DBI and now they're our Orlando moto-journalists.
Willie and Company chillin' at Trader Jack's. This time it's Willie, his beautiful wife, Jean, and Noodles. Willie owns Tropical Tattoo in Ormond Beach.
Jennifer, owner of Tattudio is flanked by Reverend Al Paquette, Dixie Biker's Chaplain and Rita, Beerman's widow.
Beerman passed away during Bike Week at Trader Jack's. You can read that article here: Beerman
We gave away so much shit my arms were tired from handin’ ‘em out, and
my hand hurt from shakin’ so many hands. And these door prize items don’t even include the hundreds of koozies, key chains, bandanas and stuff that Becky
was just throwin’ out to the crowd. I don’t
know what to say to our advertisers for
donatin’ all that stuff. Well, yeah, I do.
"Y’all’re awesome. Thanks so much.
We’re proud to be associated with y’all,
and proud that you choose to advertise
with us. We know you have choices of
where to spend your advertising dollars.
We’re thankful you chose us."
Thanks also gotta go to Rockin’
Rhonda for lettin’ us take over her
microphone, and to Long Rider, an
awesome band, who did the same. Not
only did they play awesome Southern
Rock, they rearranged their sets to let
us get out door prizes and do contests.
Thanks guys.
Now, for your ‘implied’ question.
Where the hell is the money?
What about the proceeds from this
event - the Dixie Biker Illustrated Mem-
orial Day Run for the Veterans? That’s
the real question, huh? Where’d the
money go?
That answer, and the rest of the article continues on the next page:
We were handin' out stuff for hours. Looks like Boots is fixin' to wet me down. Maybe she just wants to cool me off in the heat, ya think?
