After the Liberty H.O.G. 15th Annual Toy Run...The smoke has settled

Guest Blogger - Tom McTamney,
Owner, Liberty Harley-Davidson

I wanted to wait a few days before putting my thoughts about our Toy-Run on paper and share them with everyone. Well, the smoke has settled, and it is now time. Let me start by saying that our first run was maybe 50 or so bikes - a success for the first time. After that run, the Liberty HOG members asked if they could take up the mantle and sponsor the run. It seemed like a natural, and the Liberty HOG toy run was born.

Liberty HOG 1st Annual Toy Run 1999

Over the years our toy run has grown into the largest event my store has had the honor to be a part of. Even when there was snow, rain and blistering cold we managed to still bring out the bikes and always supplied the kids with toys for the season. For that I am eternally grateful.

Let’s fast forward to our 15th Anniversary run. The Liberty HOG Chapter hit it out of the park, so to speak. It was not without a lot of sleepless nights, not only for me, but for my new director, Jack Seals, and my new assistant director Joe Caruso, and my new Treasurer Joe Novak. We have had big runs before, last year almost 500, the year before almost 600, so we were not without experience. But when the Fugawi MC, stars of the History Channel show "We're the Fugawis," agreed to support our run, things rapidly changed.

Overnight, our expectations went from 4 or 5 hundred to quite possibly 1000, and we had to plan accordingly. This required some major changes in the way we worked the run. We needed to provide a safe and fun run for what might be over 1000 sign-ups. This created some serious chaos. The way we did sign-ups, the way we did refreshments, the way we parked the bikes, the way we handled the traffic, and yes, the way we supported the ride itself had to be changed.

Well I have to say that everyone involved, both the new officers, as well as the experienced volunteers, all pulled together and pulled it off. Not only did our HOG chapter pull it off, they made it look easy. 963 signups, 51 law enforcements, and a bushel full of FUGs all hung out in the parking lot and had lots of fun. People ate, drank coffee, and listened to Christmas music. The Fugawi MC did lots of photos with the crowd of people and signed lots of shirts. As I recall, they may have even signed a boob or two. They also brought down a van full of toys and a special gift for the hospital, a handmade doll house which will be placed in the common area of the hospital. It is my pleasure to offer a very special thank you to the Fugawi MC for their generous donation.

When it was time for the ride the HOG volunteers on street patrol, led by Waz, got the ride on the road without a hitch. All the towns cooperated and all the lights were covered as well as any intersections and stop streets. We rode from Rahway to New Brunswick at about 25 mph, and did not have to put our foot down once. It was a fun and safe ride. No bumps, no dings and no downs. Thank you one and all.
We arrived at Robert Wood Johnson hospital, to the waiting eyes and ears of children, and dropped off over 3,000 toys and gifts to the hospital - the most in our 15 years. A Yamaha Internet-Ready Grand Piano, over a dozen iPads, gift cards from Kids R Us and iTunes, and a couple of bicycles from the FUGs. It was amazing. It's always interesting to watch the bikers interacting with the children and their parents; it makes me proud to be a biker. Now that it's all washed out, we know that the Liberty HOGs will be donating $5,000 to the Bristol Myers-Squibb Childrens Hospital as well!

The run ended with a really fantastic pasta dinner, complete with all the trimmings, thanks to the kitchen crew, who, by the way, forgo the ride to make sure a hot meal is ready for everyone. Sitting there at the table enjoying a great meal with friends I couldn’t help but realize that this event could not have been possible without the hard work of all of our HOG volunteers. I owe a boat load of thanks to everyone for making the Liberty HOG chapter, as well as Liberty Harley-Davidson look good. You not only pulled off what might be the biggest HOG event in the state this year, but did it with class, and you made it look easy. Thank you each and everyone.