RENO TOY RUN HELPS AREA CHARITIES
RENO, NV (Dec. 8) – For the 39th year the annual Reno Toy Run hosted by the Northern Nevada Confederation of Clubs was held Sunday. And again the starting point for the ride was Harley Davidson of Reno.
The goal of the Toy Run is pretty simple as explained by Troy Regas.
“I’m with the Hells Angels and chairman of the COC,” he said. “The purpose of this ride is to raise toys for local charities for kids that have no money or families. We also raise money to donate to local charities so it’s kind of a two-fold thing for us.”
Regas has been participating in the run for about 25 years and was glad there was no ice. In fact the weather cleared and blessed the event with great riding weather.
For participants there are three levels that can be purchased. For $10 they get a pin and the run, $20 gets a pin, run and meal when it’s over. A $30 ticket buys a pin, the run, meal and a t-shirt.
“We do that as not everyone has money this time of year. But the idea is if you get all three you get great value as for 30 bucks you get a pin, run, meal and T-shirt, you can’t beat that,” he said. “But if it wasn’t for our sponsors thought we wouldn’t have the money to donate to the local charities.”
He explained the entry fee just covers the costs of the meals, pins and t-shirts. The ride is escorted by the police, which costs around $4,000 while the 2 million dollar insurance is another expense.
Asked about sponsors he mentions a couple of them.
“We have Chariots of Choice, Kids Riding on Horses, some veterans clubs and we’re going to give 20 grand away,” he said. “Maybe if we have great ticket sales that number could go to 30 to 35 thousand, but for the last 10 years we’ve given at least 20 grand. So for 10 years we’ve done over 200 thousand dollars of donations.”
Among the participating clubs were the Street Kings based in Sparks.
Asked about the Run their president Shawn said, “It’s not just us as there are 50 clubs collecting toys for kids all over Northern Nevada today. We anticipate we’re going to gather around 7 thousand toys and we’ll be donating $20,000 in cash to 10 different charities as well.”
Several hundred bikes as well as riders crowded Market Street this morning. Children were also there since one of their parents was in the ride and some of them got to go on the parade.
The kids were checking out some of the toys and other things but things got exciting when Santa arrived. There were hugs and pictures taken after that.
Harley Davidson of Reno is the base where participants register and from up before the parade. It gets pretty crowded as more and more come in to register and/or bring unwrapped toys.
Store manager Ray Wright said, “Well the Reno Toy Run has been going on for 39 years and we’ve probably been involved for at least half of that time. Well it’s all about doing something for the community and for the kids.
“Today for us is really not a big business day it’s just a day to host this toy run and get people to give donations and corporate sponsors to help probably a dozen or more charities here in town.”
At noon Santa, with an Elf riding with him, lead the parade downtown where they briefly stopped at the arch. From there the group headed down Virginia Street to the Reno/Sparks Convention Center.
In the south hall there was food, raffle tickets to be sold and more toys. In fact some of the toys were for the kids in attendance.
For that they were lined up by age so Santa and Mrs. Claus could give the toys out. Needless to say this was a big hit for the youngsters.
After that were was a raffle for prizes, a 50/50 drawing and at least one donation presented to a charity.
Now the money and toys either have been or will be distributed to various charities. This will brighten Christmas for many disadvantaged children and families in our area.
Next year the clubs will gather again for the 40th Annual Toy Run.
• On Saturday the Northern Nevada Kart Club participated in the Sparks Hometowne Christmas Parade.
Leading the parade was Jeff Wamre towing a trailer with drivers and a couple of karts. His truck and the sides of the trailer had NNKC’s logo on the side.
Behind them came a decorated quad towing another trailer with a couple of karts on it. Two young drivers were in the seats and the motors were running.
It was a good way to introduce NNKC to those that have no idea there is go kart racing in this area.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• This week on Teresa’s Garage Radio Show, from 2 until 3 p.m. Tuesday, racer Emily Cook will be the special guest.
I have a preview section at 2:15 and there are three options to hear the show. One can listen to it over the air in the Reno/Sparks area, streaming on the Internet as a Podcast or watch us live on Face Book.
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Our newest sponsor is a fantastic race photographer Melissa Coker. If you have raced at Summit in Elko, Battle Mountain, Lovelock, Rattlesnake or Diamond Mountain Speedway she probably has a photograph of your car on the track.
She’s also been at the IMCA Duel in the Desert was well as the Wild West Tour and IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa. Melissa not only has photos of the cars, and many times drivers, but she can produce hero cards and even a book of from your season.
To see her collections or to place an order please check her website at www.melissasoutonalimb.smugmug.com.
Two of our sponsors are first class motorcycle shops located in Reno.
Our first sponsor is Reno Motorsports (RMS). Not only do they have about anything a rider might want or need and the store also has a full service shop.
Their location is at 964 Terminal Way, by the intersection with Mill Street. Store’s phone number is 775-322-1499 and the site is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
The next shop, and our newest sponsor is Moto Source located at 3180 Mill Street. Once again there is a full service shop plus about any thing a rider might need or want.
The phone number is 775-856-3855 and the website is, www.moto-source.com.
The next sponsor is an excellent place if you need collision repair on your car or truck. It’s Concours Body shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno and has a long history of first class repairs.
Brian Saul is the owner, a car enthusiast himself and he’s committed to continuing the shop’s reputation of quality work. Phone number is 775-329-4557 and the website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.
Hungry, want a great place to eat, then try PJ&Company for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports. If you’re a rider, well Wednesday evening is Bike Night, always a great time to see some great looking bikes and meet like-minded people.
The location is 1590 South Wells Avenue, just north of the round about. Phone number is 775-323-6366 and their website is www.pjandco.net.
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