I attended the Toy Run in Brevard County, Florida and I thought back to the mid-’80s when a group of us took toys to the local orphanage. As other riders in the area found out about that and wanted to get involved, Joe “Sarge” Franks arranged for us to ride to the Shrine Temple to drop off items.
The Toy Run continued to grow and instead of coming from different points around the city the Bikers met in Cocoa, Florida and rode to Melbourne. It was quite a thing and people would wait along the route to wave to them as they passed by.
Of course, as the group grew in size, so did issues with traffic, upset motorist, motorcycle accidents and eventually a woman being killed by a motorcycle that got out of control.
The run was stopped, but other smaller events were held in local cities in the county.
In 2021 a new group came up with the idea to have an event in Melbourne at Club 52 which has very big parking lots. The Bikers would start at different times from places around the county and not have traffic issues. Groups and individual riders would come and go throughout the day.
For those who wanted to stay local, favorite Doc Holiday provided the tunes and eventually turned it over to the Twisted Minds band who performed live.
I personally think this event was a big success, and they got the job done in a safe manner, while drawing a strong turnout.
Thanks to all involved in putting it on and those who attended throughout the day.
ENJOY YOUR CHRISTMAS or WHATEVER HOLIDAY YOU CELEBRATE, AND HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
