On Sept. 8, a motorcycle Poker Run fundraiser was held for Emorie Whitman, who is fighting childhood bone cancer. Many people came out to ride in the Poker Run, eat and enjoy live music.
Julie Foster Collins, Emorie’s mother, said the fundraiser was the result of a lot of hard work by a large group of volunteers.
Gary Walker, Bobby Waters and Tommy Stott had the idea of organizing the fundraiser as a Poker Run, and they also donated the food and the money for the Poker Run prize. Bands then volunteered to participate, including Speedwell, Special Edition, Red Dog and Friends and Project X.
Mary Prioleau at Tryon House created and sold the popular “Go Emme Go” T-shirts, and Joey Davis and Kim Pack sold the T-shirts at the Tryon Fire Department.
Julie Miller collected donations from local businesses for sale at the event and helped in many other ways as well. Many businesses made donations for the event. Jeff Miller also helped pick up and handle the donated items.
Local fire departments in Tryon, Landrum, Green Creek, Mill Spring and Columbus provided stops for the Poker Run. Harry Denton and Tommy Burrell cooked food for the event.
Pam Stone sold signed copies of her book, “I Love Me a Turkey Butt Samwich,” and donated half of the proceeds to Emorie. In addition, Khalid Abuadas sold ice cream from One Scoop at a Time and Yancy Pace sold popcorn.
Collins said Danny Jones, a special friend of the family, also did a lot of behind-the-scenes work for the event.
“What a wonderful giving community we live in,” Collins said.
– article submitted
by Julie Foster Collins