Advice for Planning a Poker Run

[Shawn]

Hello Everyone,
I am looking for advice on planning a poker run ( It will be in Cleveland, Ohio). I am really nervous about it because I've never planned an event in my life, so this is new to me. I am looking for any type of suggestions or advice to make this a great success.

Recently, my wife and I bought into my brother-in -laws bar and I wanted to plan a poker run. One thing I needed was a good cause, and as soon as I mentioned my idea to my wife, she did not hesitate to give me THE cause.

Her friend Melissa's son has had severe medical problems since the day he was born. I don't know the medical term for what he has, but I can tell you he lost his sight, has minimal hearing, can't eat real food so he has a feeding tube, can't sit up on his own (he's now 2 1/2 yrs old), has had several heart surgerys, and the list goes on. And as you could imagine, the medical bills are out of control. This is why we would like to try to raise money and releave at least a small portion of their troubles.

So far I think that I have a good plan, but like I said before, ANY ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Here's what I have so far:

1) CAUSE. Of course absolutely 100% of the proceeds will go to the family, but I'm not sure how to prove that.

2) ROUTE. I have an idea of the route and the bars I want to include, I just haven't talked with the bars yet. But...the route I plan on will include alot of country roads for some open riding, nice scenary and hardly any traffic.

3) RAFFLES/DOOR PRIZES. I plan on having some raffles and I'm going to visit some local motorcycle dealerships to see if they would be willing to donate some gift certificates (not all of us have bags to carry things in!)

4) END LOCATION. I am having the run end at the MEMPHIS STATION in Cleveland OH. This is the bar my wife and I recently became partners in. It is a nice little bar with a Fireman's theme. It is located on Memphis Ave. between Ridge Rd and Fulton.(It's on Facebook)

So....if anybody has advice for me, or some better suggestions I would really appreciate it. I hope to have a great big bag of money for the family and I know that the ride will be awesome!!

Shawn ( '07 Mastiff)

 

[PA Chopper]

Planning a run is alot of work. See if you can get some help from your buddies. One thing you definitley need is a waiver/release form for the riders and passengers to sign. Also, a good thing to try and do is on the day of the run or even night before, have someone travel the route (entire or partial) and look out for dead animals, tree limbs, excess gravel, etc that can put the riders in danger. Especially if you had a bad rainstorm prior to the run. Just sayin'

 

[1BADK9]

Most I have done have a deal at the stops on beers and drinks... Be sure to call ahead to the other bar stops and see if they are willing to give a discount on the drinks to those in the run also will need someone at each stop to give the cards to the riders, may want to see if the bar staff will participate or if you need to supply a person at the stops. GOOD LUCK...GOOD CAUSE! :2thumbs:

 

[JR07]

Let me know if you need any help.

 

[Shawn]

Great advice, I really appreciate the help. I know it will be alot of work, and I'm very hopeful it will be a great success.

Thanks for the offer JR07, I will get a hold of you if I need help, and I will definately be in touch to do some riding when the time comes.