Bikers raise cash for local veterans

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Motorcycles started to rumble into the Santa Barbara Elks Lodge parking lot at around noon Sunday as bikers returned from the 2nd Annual Veterans Fund Poker Run.
About 130 people hit the road this year to raise money for local veterans, leaving around 10 a.m. and returning to the Elks Lodge for a barbecue, raffle and live music.

“It’s just a wonderful thing that people come out and support this,” said Elks member Loren Manes, who helped organize the poker run.
Manes said support from the Elks and the community has been overwhelming, from the 30 sponsors to volunteers manning the food table and raffle stand. Bushwood volunteered their musical services as well, playing country, rock and oldies into the afternoon.
Funds raised Sunday will go to local veterans through the Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Santa Barbara. Manes said the event raised about $3,500 last year and he hopes to double that figure this time around.
“Even if I make only a dollar more this year than last year, I’ll be a happy camper,” Manes said.
Jim Smitley, who helped organize the poker run with Manes, said the event went smoothly, with no glitches or accidents. He expected to raise about $6,000 this year, adding that money will help provide clothing for homeless veterans and defray medication costs.
“We just decided that helping the veterans was going to be our target for this,” Smitley said.
Participants in the poker run cruised down to Carpinteria, into Ventura County to Lake Casitas, and back through Montecito, drawing a card at each stop. They drew their first and fifth card at the Elks Lodge, completing their five-card poker hand.
Those with the lowest and highest hands each won a beer mug emblazoned with the Veterans Fund Poker Run logo. Although several of the bikers are members in regional Elks lodges, Manes said many of them are just local bikers who heard about the run from friends or the flyers he passed around.
A motorcyclist who preferred to go by Andre said he rode the 94-mile course with a group of about 20 people, covering the distance in about two hours.
“They’re really cool people,” Andre said of the Elks members who put on the event. “I like the whole volunteering thing.”
He said he’s been riding his Harley for about 20 years in the Santa Barbara area and enjoyed the ride, which took more winding back roads rather than sticking to the highway.
Barry Coert, of Fillmore, participated in his first poker run Sunday on a Honda Shadow, finishing the course in about two and a half hours.
“It was more challenging than I expected,” Coert said, explaining that the twisting roads required a lot of gear shifting. “But it’s all for a good cause.”