The Triangle Area Ride for Kids® celebrated its fifth anniversary with $138,280 in donations for the PBTF, a 34 percent increase over its previous best.
Sunny Lake Jordan State Park hosted 675 participants, and the scenic ride looped around the lake and historic Chatham County Courthouse. When the riders returned, they were welcomed to the Celebration of Life program by Darth Vader and a cadre of storm troopers, much to the amusement of the eight ride "stars."
The fundraisers honored these brave youngsters, as well as the memory of those no longer with us.
"As a parent who has lost a child, I know how important the work being done is," said Janet Moore. "We were able to have 10 extra years with our son [Bryan] because of you."
Special guests included Dr. Gerry Grant of the PBTF Institute at Duke University and Bill Fitzgerald of Raleigh/Durham NBC-17.
The No. 1 individual fundraiser was "Star Wars" movie poster artist Tommy Lee Edwards of Pittsboro, who turned in $9,365.
Members of Raleigh H.O.G. gave $33,037 to take top chapter/club honors, while the customers of Ray Price Harley-Davidson donated $33,377 to make it the top motorcycle business.
Steve Lawson of Camden, N.C., won the grand prize, a new Honda motorcycle.
Big thanks go to Triangle's task force, led by Rod and Maxine Gilvey, Richard and Linda Berner, and visitation leader Roland Cargill. They and their event volunteers worked tirelessly to make their ride one for the record books.
