Raffle

Due to popular demand, the raffle is back! The tickets will be $1 each and will be for sale throughout the rally. 50% of the proceeds will go to the VROC Server Fund, and the other 50% will go to a lucky winner.

No idea what to donate for the raffle? How about that part you ordered and by the time it came you had traded in your bike...too much hassle to return the part, who wants to pay restocking fees, right? That part is sitting around your garage, get it out and donate it!

Remember that teeshirt you ordered from Piper? When it came it was waaayy too big (or small) but you never quite got around to exchanging it. Figured you'd give it to someone sometime. This is the time!

How about that Wild Hogs DVD that someone gave you for your birthday but you already had one. How can you return it, you aren't sure where they got it? Donate it!

Or maybe last Christmas your boss gave you that $25 WalMart gift card instead of the usual $100 bonus. Too disgusted to use the thing? Stop irritating yourself! Get it out of the house!

No extra stuff sitting around? Go get something. This is for a good cause. Anybody would love to win a $25 gift card for Shell. Get a Starbucks gift card so the winner can stay awake on the way home. How about next time you drop into Lowe's you throw in a gift card for the VROC raffle?

Hit up your local Kawasaki dealer. God knows you spend enough money in the place. They can afford to give you some of that "Fire and Steel" stuff they have hanging around. Or maybe they have a closeout on some great riding gloves and they'll give you a pair for the raffle. Tell them we'll mention their name.

Did you win a gift card for TGI Fridays in a drawing at work? You don't need it!

You're getting the idea. Look around and see what you have sitting around that someone else would love to have. No room to carry a larger item to the rally? Ship it out to Sherm and he'll bring it to the rally site. He'll probably ship it home to the winner, too. If the item you want to move along to someone else is really large, take a picture of it, put the picture in an envelope, and tell the winner you'll send it to them.

The items don't necessarily have to be motorcycle related. Okay, so we're all really sorry your girlfriend broke off the engagement and gave you back the ring. Do you really want to have to deal with the feelings you get when you look at it? Donate it!

Ladies, how about that leather bra some creepy ex-boyfriend gave you before his arrest warrant was served? It never fit right anyway, did he really think that was your size? Don't keep that around! When he gets out of jail, you know you won't model it for him anyway!

Let's try to keep the donated items new, or nearly new. Trying it on once to see if it fits (it didn't) qualifies as new. Wearing it until you lose (or gain) 20 pounds so it no longer fits, doesn't qualify as new.

Put it on your bike and took it right off because it wasn't what you had in mind? New. Had it on your bike for 3 years and took it off right before you sold the bike? Not new.

Bought a gift card at Best Buy for the raffle? Hooray, new! Found one in the parking lot outside the store? Looks like its been in someone's wallet awhile? Most likely not any value on it? Not new.

Nice bottle of J.D. Still sealed. New. What you have leftover by Saturday night from that bottle you bought Thursday afternoon. Not new. Drink up.

Don't make me go on. You've got it now. You'll get your name mentioned at the rally as the person who made the donation, unless you insist otherwise. If you insist otherwise, it better not be because the stuff's crappy. I'm making a list and checking it daily, and I hope by the time July 19 (the day of the raffle) arrives, its as long as a 6 year old's Christmas list. Maybe longer.

To donate an item and get your name on the list, email Rubbergator at RubRGator@aol.com or GypsyCat at Gitanogato@msn.com.

Thanks to all of you. We're gonna have fun!