As I am sitting here, always thinking about ways to raise money for dunesafe so that we can offer more services to the public as far as safety training and programs (CPR, ATV, ID cards, etc.) I thought to myself, How about hosting a poker run?

Would anyone be interested in this? Since alot of us dont live real close to each other, it should probably be held at the dunes.

I have never hosted one, let alone been to one, so if they are as fun as I had heard, I think it would be a great success.

If you think this would be a good idea and want to share some ideas to make it better. Please chime in.

I was thinking 5 stops.

Start at our basecamp (most likely in a wash)
Comp Hill
Oldsmobile
Flagpole
Then end back up at the base camp.

The whole thing could take less than 4 hours. Have a window of time at each stop, so that someone doesnt have to sit there all day. Say pick up the first card at base by 9, then 9:00-9:50 at Comp, 10:00-10:50 at Olds, 11:00-12:00 at the Flagpole, then pick up the last card by 3:00 at base. that way there can be a break for lunch, etc. before heading over to base for prizes/snacks in the afternoon.

What do you think would be fair for entry fees? $20? higher?

Sodas/water can be provided at each checkpoint, Then also at the finish along with finger food/snacks/hot dog type stuff.

What would you think would be good for a grand prize? cash or ??? Possibly a dunesafe poker run t-shirt for each $20 entry.

Maybe get a raffle going on if any businesses want to sponsor said event?

Thanks for your input,

Ian

Great Idea..Make the entry $100 and raise some real money, Give a T to each entry and may be see if you can get a company to donate a grand prize like a set of Paddle's or a Rcae radio etc. A "off" weekend is a Idea too.

I don't agree with an off weekend.



A lot of people go out on specific weekends because they are holiday weekends, they get a 3rd day off. It's not because they want to go with a big crowd, it's because they get an extra day off and can't afford to go on weekends in between.


So if you schedule the poker run on a holiday weekend (MLK, thanksgiving, pres weekend, etc) then you can get more attendance because your event falls on a weekend that a lot of people were already planning on going. If you do it the weekend before or after, a lot of people won't be able to swing 2 weekends in a row, and they aren't going to skip the 3 day weekend to attend something on a regular weekend.


Does that make sense?

Do you ever agree??

Theres no such thing as an off weekend anymore.

But I do think it's a great idea.

I ment a weekend when there are not as many Cowboys and Indian's out

I wasnt going to plan it on a weekend before or after a MAJOR weekend, but since it will be the first one, I dont want to have unhappy people that participate by us being overwhelmed and not prepared for the turnout. I would rather have it smaller and a huge success, rather than huge and it sucks so nobody comes back to another one.

A regular holiday 3 day weekend like Veterans, MLK or something of that nature would be an idea, but Thanksgiving, New Years, Halloween I think would be a bit much.

I was hoping I could get some really cool sponsor to donate something big for the grand prize, but what if someone that only has a quad wins a race radio? or like a nice MX helmet is given to a buggy guy/gal?

It would be sweet to have 2 things that the grand prize poker run winner could choose from, then use the other as a grand prize for a raffle winner.

Looks like I have a lot of sweet talkin to do to get some schwag.

Shawn, dont be suprised if I turn on the charm...

It sure seems that way, huh?






I just look at everything logically. Most peeps are on a 2 week cycle - Halloween, 2 weeks later, then Thanskgiving, 2 weeks later, then Xmas-New yrs, then 2 weeks, then MLK, etc.




Ian, I think it's a great idea, sounds like a lot of fun! I'd like to hear from people who have run one to hear about do's and dont's, how to run it efficiently.


I would definitely like to participate in a poker run!

I've never done a Poker Run before but it sounds fun.
I agree with an "off-weekend". Especially as a first run event.
$100 entry fee might make more money if everyone was in on that. No way can I/will I spend $100 on it though. My whole Weekend trip rarely tops $100


As someone who has never done one before, Id reccomend not making it an all day type thing. Though it sounds fun, I don't want to spend 10 hours doing it.

^^^Thats why I figured $20 or so for an entry, kinda like the golf tourney, that way it gives us some money, but doesnt break the bank either, we are always looking for a few extra $$ here and there, none of the money is going into our pockets, and we dont have much overhead at the moment, (website upkeep, domain names, etc.) but I am sure we will get more bills as we get bigger and bigger.

I thought the time table that I posted earlier was a decent one, that way it gives people time to not feel hurried, and can enjoy their day as well as participate, I guess we could crunch the afternoon festivities to noon or so, then be pretty much wrapped up by 2-3 or so.

I appreciate the input and will try to get this organized for sometime during the season, there will be an announcement/advertizing a couple months in advance.

Thank you.

Ian this is a great idea and I know you and I have talked before on this and I'm in to Help out or whatever you need.Vicki "AFO4" told me a Great idea intead of having hundreds of cards to pass out have a Index card and each stop have a Stamp that you were there.When you get back with your card full of stamps then your Hand is delt to ya right there instead of lots of cards and trash around.Just a thought.

^^^That is a great idea. I have to go back to the think tank now. L&L Corvairs who holds a big run in Nov. shot me a PM and told me that insurance is required and probably some other stuff that was quite expensive. So, maybe we can just do a "friendly fun run" and keep it small or be involved somehow in some that are already organized. I really do want to do it, but dont want to loose a bunch of money in the process. Dont mind spending the money on education/safety programs, but this would be more for fun. We shall see.

Whatta RAD idea! instead of LOSING cards while riding...

Lemme know what i can do to help out Ian. you know i love to be a helper!

Great idea!





Maybe a "dry run" on a night ride this summer? Blazing Saddles theme?

for me summer runs are out until I can get something that will tow out the 5er that I trust. Delivery isnt til late August at best.

How about something early in the season as a fun run, that way we can squeeze a couple in during the season.

Say 2 weeks before Halloween?

Ian you Have a PM buddy.Also are you guys going to have an Ad for this at your booth at the Show???

probably no ad, its a cost factor as of now, to do it legit is very expensive and we will need LOTS of people to participate to break even. But I am not oppossed to a friendly unofficial fun run to see how things go, and if people get an urge to donate, well we may have a T-shirt or something for them.

Ian, if you decide to do this and lock in a date, contact me for some goodies. If I am still in business and have inventory, then I would be glad to donate to a worthy cause like this.

Thank you Dusty...I am pretty sure we will do it around mid Feb. that should give us plenty of time to get our ducks in a row.

I appreciate the offer very much, and am looking forward to meeting you. Now hurry up and get that car of yours done...If its been started, I will be at Revenge on Friday.

one poker run I went to was $20 to enter and at each stop if you did not like your card you could pay $5 to draw another card. It was a way to make a little extra and was totally optional for the participants. then a few bucks for the food and a few bucks for a raffel and everything was optional so you could give as much or as little as you could afford.

^^^I like that idea too. A friend of our has a golf tourney as a fundraiser for her charity (Leg up Ranch, its an AWESOME cause) and she has mulligan cards for sale, putting challenge tickets, raffle tickets, silent auction, etc. everything is reasonably priced, so you dont think about it much, but by the time you are said and done, its nothing to shell out a couple hundred for the cause.


I have to also give props to that charity, its a place where kids with cancer can go to have fun day in the sun and get away from the hospital for a breath of fresh air. I highly recommend checking it out.

From the north county times:
By: CHARLES CARR - For the North County Times

The Leg-Up Ranch is a 20-acre nonprofit Ramona facility that has been established to serve and affirm children afflicted with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

Leg-Up Ranch founder and director Stephanie Brehm's own son, Dylan, was the inspiration for starting the facility. Dylan, now 13, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 4 1/2. He and his family went through more than three years of chemotherapy. Then, heartbreakingly, three years ago, Dylan was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

"He's living with it, as we all are in his family," says Stephanie, who has interfaced with parent support groups at Children's Hospital, Kaiser and UCSD to spread the word about the Leg-Up Ranch.


"It isn't just the child, but the whole family who is affected," says Stephanie, who has two other children, an older son, Luke, 15, and a daughter, Savannah, 6. "The Leg-Up Ranch will be a retreat so children and their families can enjoy, free of charge, a great day in the country to ride horses, get dirty, play with farm animals and offer support to each other," she adds.

For more information about Leg-Up Ranch, contact Stephanie Brehm at (760) 789-3010.

They are a great family and Stephanies husband is one of my best friends.

if at each stop you get a time stamp then you can also give a raffle ticket to the fastest time on each leg and the fastest overall time to complete the course.

^good idea, but I dont want to make a race out of it, I want to make it fair for everyone, kids, jeepers, rhinos, etc.


I appreciate all the input and when we decide to do it, I guarantee this will be an event not to miss.

How about Ian if it is a Poker run you get an extra Hand delt to ya if ya bring back a Bag of trash??

Or as a Trial run to come before we try to do a Poker run we have those stops and at those stops we Pick up alittle Trash and then our Card gets stamped so it isn't "Really" an event as it is a group of people Duning safe and helping clean the dunes

I'll participate, or help.
whatever you need!

Hey Ian, if you need some playing cards let me know, I can get you as many as you will ever need.......

Thanks guys. I think I would like to do an informal run amongst friends, kinda run it like I would do the real deal, and being friends and all, I could get some constructive critisism (sp?) so I can improve it.

Maybe just get a group of about 15-20 people/bikes/buggys/??? and instead of a big prize, how about something more simple like a steak and lobster dinner cooked by yours truely or ???

I'm in Ian and you know my Group would be also

Sounds great where do I sign?