These Santas use 2 wheels
Bikers come out in full force for the Sheriff's Toy Run.
By LOGAN NEILL, Times Staff Writer
Published November 19, 2007
BROOKSVILLE - To an unwary driver heading down State Road 50, it might have looked like a harrowing scene from a 1960s Hell's Angels movie - a giant herd of chrome-laden "hawgs" snaking along to the throaty purr of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine.
What the public may not have known was the collective mission of the two-wheeled throng: to bring a little holiday cheer to children who might not otherwise have any. Organizer Milton Gonzalez said there was only goodness in the hearts of about 100 bikers who showed up Sunday to take part in the sixth annual Hernando County Sheriff's Toy Run.
"These are good, caring people," said Gonzalez, president of ABATE of Florida's Freedom Chapter. "They see a situation where they want to help and they show up and get it done. A lot of kids are going to have a happier Christmas this year because of them." Each of the riders had at least one toy and some had two.
ABATE, which stands for American Bikers Aimed Toward Education, is a nationwide motorcycle rights advocacy group with 31 chapters in Florida. Based in Spring Hill, the Freedom Chapter sponsors numerous motorcycle-related gatherings and events each year.
Sunday's ride from the Wal-Mart Supercenter on U.S. 19 and Spring Hill Drive to the Hernando County sheriff's headquarters in Brooksville was the sixth time that Gonzalez's club has teamed up with the Sheriff's Office for the event.
Ron Sumner and Jeanie Getchell were among the early arrivals parked in the staging area across from the Wal-Mart Supercenter. Standing next to his pristine Harley-Davidson, Sumner admitted that one of the reason he does the toy run and other charity biker events is to show the public the good that bikers do.
"It used to be that if you rode a motorcycle, people just assumed you were a bad person," Sumner said. "The truth is that bikers do a lot of good. They just don't always get credit for it."
With motorcycle escort Deputies Keith Brown and Michael Welshams leading the way, the parade of bikers took off shortly after 1 p.m. Some riders strapped their toy gifts to their mounts, while others with larger items sent their donations in one of several support vehicles.
Deputy Dane Jenkins of the Hernando Sheriff's Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving, or COPPS, program said that his department has come to greatly appreciate the bikers'gathering donations. "It's going to go a long way toward making a lot of good kids happy this Christmas," Jenkins said. "And that's what it's all about."
Logan Neill can be reached at lneill@sptimes or 848-1435.