Benefit Ride for Gene Costello - 09/12/2010

Sunday, September 12, 2010, was a good day for riding and more than 60 people decided that they would do just that to help Gene Costello with his hospital bills and expenses. Gene was injured in a motorcycle accident in August and he remains in the ICU. He is waiting to undergo several surgeries and has a long road to recovery.

Everyone met Sunday morning at BoneDaddy's Hideaway in Raleigh, NC and registered for an afternoon ride that left promptly at noon. The price for a ride ticket was only $10 for Riders and $5 for Passengers. Ride tickets included lunch and a raffle ticket. For those friends that wanted to come out and help Gene but didn't want to ride the tickets were $7 for lunch and a raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets were available for purchase and there were also tickets available for a 50/50 drawing.

The ride proceeded from BoneDaddy's to Locked @ Loaded in Garner, then on to Korner Pocket in Raleigh, Scooters Grill @ Bar, then back to BoneDaddy's for the afternoons festivities. Lunch was barbeque chicken with beans, slaw, potato salad, rolls and dessert. The cooks started grilling the chickens early in the morning so by the time everyone got back from the ride lunch was ready to go.

Robert White was the DJ for afternoon. He was also the auctioneer for the donated items auction. There were many gift certificates, gas cards, a patio furniture set, Harley-Davidson collectables and even a leather Harley jacket which went for $250. There were also lots of door prizes, including gift cards, t-shirts, caps, coolers, and a whole lot more. The 50/50 drawing brought in $262 so $131 went to the winner and $131 went to the fund. The winner of the 50/50 drawing donated the money back to the fund.

Overall, $2500 was raised to help Gene with his medical expenses. Gene's son and one of his daughters were in attendance and they got Gene on the phone. He thanked every one for turning out and stated how much it means to him and his family to have this kind of turnout. It was a nice day, a good ride, a fun afternoon, and a lot of old friends and some new friends got together to help out a fellow biker. What more could you ask for?