By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
Supporters for a community cause faced hot wind in the morning and rain in the afternoon last Saturday, but the motorcycle riders continued undaunted for the Piedmont Area Veterans Association (PAVA).
The poker run proceeds from the June 30 ride benefit the construction of a community center being built next to the Piedmont Area Veterans Association (PAVA) building in Piedmont.
“I thought we had a good turnout,” PAVA President Hoss Cooley said. “We did really well. We raised $4,006 and we had 89 bikes that signed up.”
Riders met at noon at the PAVA and from there made their stops at the Hitchin Post near Kingfisher, the Rock-A-Way Bar in Guthrie to Twin Peaks in Oklahoma City. By the time the crew reached Margarita Island & Cantina on NW 10th Street, the rain starting trickling down.
“The weather could have been better,” PAVA spokesman Leon Meyer said. “It started raining about four at Margarita Island and we had some who had to leave because of that so that probably affected our dollar amount, but we were satisfied with how it turned out. We’re looking forward to doing it again next year.”
PAVA members donated some big ticket items to raffle including a new 500 Polaris Ranger, a new 12 gauge Bernelli shotgun, a handmade quilt and a custom-made cornhole game in addition to cash prizes.
The community center will be available to Piedmont residents, businesses and schools. Most events are held at city hall or in the new Piedmont Intermediate School. The 6,000 square feet facility will include a large full-service kitchen. An outdoor grill and seating area will be available outside the back of the building.
The cost of the building is estimated to be $500,000 and Cooley said they have about $175,000 to go. The foundation and steel building frame is up and the brick has been delivered.
“We’re going to get it bricked and get the driveway poured and then after that we’ve got to get the interior work done,” he said. “I’m going to hit people up for some material donations and we’ve already got a lot of kitchen equipment that we’ve been storing. It’s coming together. This is quite a project to do just on donations and volunteers. The more work we get done on the building, the more people get excited about it.”
The community also supported the construction of the new veteran’s center which stands next to the community center.
“I think the support from the community has been great. We got a lot of help on that first building (PAVA). We’re really enthusiastic that we can put something back in the community that will work for the community,” Meyer said. “They’ve turned out for us, and hopefully this will be a big asset as a whole for the community.”
Ride Oklahoma Charities sponsored the run for PAVA and all proceeds went to the cause. The non-profit bike group conducts poker runs on behalf of community causes across the state.
