A group of dedicated bikers including the brave soul in the above picture ride up Main Street in Kindersley on Sept. 1 in chilly, overcast conditions during the Toy Parade for the second annual Poker Rally and Toy Run held by the Kindersley Legion in support of the West Central Crisis and Family Support Centre.
Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
The Kindersley Legion held its second annual Poker Rally and Toy Run on the weekend, and several bikers got out despite the chilly weather conditions.
A total of about 30 motorcycles gathered outside the Legion Hall in Kindersley on Sept. 1 to participate in the Poker Rally and Toy Run. The participants brought toys to donate to the cause and the toys will support a Christmas hamper program.
More than 90 toys were donated and picked up by the West Central Crisis and Family Support Centre. The crisis organization supplies toys for a regional Christmas hamper program run by the Canadian Mental Health Association. Several cash donations were also made to the crisis centre during the rally.
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The bikers and toys went on a parade up Main Street in Kindersley and the toys were dropped off at a collection spot before the bikers left for the poker rally. The rally made stops in Rosetown, Elrose and Eston before returning to Kindersley for a barbecue supper at the hall.
Legion members in the three other communities welcomed the bikers upon their arrival. According to an organizer, the Eston Legion made a donation to the crisis centre for a second year in a row. The weather did not deter the dedicated group of riders.
“They enjoyed themselves even with the bad weather,” said Al Drozd, a Legion member who helped to organize the event, recognizing that bikers are a strange breed and they often ride to support causes regardless of the conditions.
Drozd said bikers came from as far away as Calgary, Medicine Hat, North Battleford, Prince Albert and Maple Creek to participate in the rally. He said it was awesome to get bikers from other places to support the cause. The organizer said overall, “it was a great day.”
The participants paid $20 for their poker hands and the cost included the barbecue supper. A total of 60 per cent of the pot was paid out to people with the three best poker hands, so the winners got 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent of the pot. Ghost hands were available for passengers and non-bikers.
According to Drozd, the winners donated about $400 of their prize money back to the crisis centre. The organizer, who did not ride in the rally, put on a Santa Claus suit and got on a scooter to catch up with motorcycles in the toy parade.
He noted that it was a good day for the Legion, the crisis centre and the bikers. He thanked the Rosetown, Elrose and Eston Legion branches for helping with the rally. He also thanked the volunteers including Kindersley Legion members and representatives of the centre.
Mike Dice of Kindersley was one of the bikers. It had rained a bit earlier in the day and it was chilly, so it was not an ideal day for a ride. Dice said he comes from a family with a military background, so it was important for him to participate.
“My family was all in the military,” he said, recognizing that his father served with the Regina Rifles, his mother was a war bride and he also served in the military. “To support the Legion is always a good thing. They’ve got lots of good causes and I happen to like riding bikes.”
Misty Leismeister, the outreach manager at the crisis centre, was on hand for the day to help with the event. She said she was surprised to see such a large group of bikers out for the rally due to the weather, so it was awesome.
She noted that she had not heard about the additional cash donations to the centre, so it was amazing of the participants to show such compassion for the cause. Leismeister was on hand for last year’s rally, too, and it is uplifting to see such a strong show of support.
“It’s humbling and it warms your heart to see that they’ll come out in sun, rain or what ever to do something they enjoy doing, which is riding their bikes, but to support a cause like that,” she said, recognizing that more kids will get to smile on Christmas morning and “that’s what it’s all about.”
The outreach manager, who served as the organization’s president for several years, added that it is incredible for the Kindersley Legion to consider the centre as the main beneficiary of the rally, and the regional organization is thankful.
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