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Jim Guinn/CDS fundraiser and poker run set for May 15

Jim Guinn/CDS fundraiser and poker run set for May 15

Posted: Friday, May 7, 2010 9:59 am

The planning began in January, and now — hundreds of hours and 6,000 miles later — June Wehner says everything is set for the first annual Jim Guinn/CDS Fundraiser and Poker Run, to be held Sat., May 15.
“My husband wasn’t real happy with me,” says Wehner, the event’s coordinator, with a laugh.
“He said I was running the wheels off his truck when he saw that I’d put 6,000 miles on it in two months. I give it 200 percent whenever I believe in a cause.”
If time and effort is any indication, there can be no doubt that Wehner, a retired truck driver, believes in this one.
“I actually have members of my family who were born with disabilities,” Wehner says.
“I had been doing poker runs for a while and Cynthia and Julian [Guinn] asked me if I’d help them raise money for CDS. I said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
All proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit Community Developmental Services (CDS), a nonprofit organization that provides services and support to adults with developmental disabilities in Weakley, Obion, Henry, Carroll and Lake Counties.
The event is named in honor of Julian and Cynthia Guinn’s youngest son Jim, 43, a longtime CDS service recipient.
For the Guinn’s, of Paris, the fundraiser is a family affair. Cynthia has helped Wehner coordinate the event and Julian plans to ride, with Jim as his passenger.
Jim’s sister Tracy is flying in from her home in Anchorage, Ak. so she can ride, too. Matt’s Pub in Springville, owned by Jim’s brother Matt, will be the starting and ending point for the run.
Other stops along the way will include CDS Industries in Martin, Blondie’s Bar & Grill in Dresden, The Rainbow Club in Paris, the Paris Moose Lodge, the Pit Bull Biker Shop in Springville and Hidden Creek Camp Ground.
In just a few months the energetic Wehner, who lives in New Concord, Ky. with her husband Steve, has coordinated a seven-stop motorcycle poker run that covers 110 miles of Henry and Weakley Counties.
She has also collected more than 130 donated prize items from more than 50 area business and individuals.
“The community has been outstanding in terms of donating items and money for the run. They’ve been really on top of it,” says Wehner.
Wehner and her team, which also includes Karen Sweazea and Angie Payton of Springville, have arranged for free BBQ for all the riders after the run, and planned an after party at Hidden Creek Campground that includes free tent camping and breakfast, live music and bike rodeo games.
“I think we’re going to blow it out of the water,” says Wehner.
“I’m looking for us to have a real good turnout. We have so many people on board, so many good helpers. Cynthia, Karen and Angie have been really fantastic.”
Wehner says she expects anywhere from 200 to 400 bikes to participate in the poker run for CDS.
“With five counties, CDS covers a large area. Most of the time these runs just cover one county. But for CDS, there will be a lot of people coming in from a lot of places.”
Registration for the run is $20 for riders and $10 for passengers and begins at 8 a.m. at Matt’s Pub, or 9 a.m. at CDS Industries, on May 15.
Representatives of CDS will be on hand at Matt’s Pub at the conclusion of the ride to award the more than 100 door and rider’s prizes, as well as to announce the winners of a silent auction.
The auction, being held the day of the ride at Matt’s Pub, is open to the public. Some of the auction items include a Cherokee Hills 4×8 trailer, a 4×4 child’s John Deere Gator and 10 lbs of Alaskan King Crab.
There will also be a raffle drawing for a 10×12 metal building, a backyard BBQ smoker and a Remington 870 Express rifle. Tickets for the raffle are still available and are $20 each.
Finally the rider with the best poker hand, as determined by a six-judge panel, will receive a $500 cash prize. The worst hand receives $200.
For the people participating in the run however, the event is about more than just prizes.
Says Wehner, “Motorcycle riders have got to be the most caring group you’ll ever meet when it comes to the elderly, children or people with disabilities. They will give everything they can to raise money and make sure its done right.”
And after May 15, who knows, Wehner’s husband may even get his truck back.
For more information about the Jim Guinn/CDS poker run, raffle sale or silent auction, please call June Wehner at 731-697-0083, or Cynthia Guinn at 731-571-1649.
For more information about CDS please call 731-587-3851, or visit comdevserv.org.