By By Lydia Grimes
features reporter
Greg Tucker loved children, and friends of the late Brewton firefighter believe he would have appreciated the beneficiary of a memorial ride this weekend in his name.
The second annual Poker Run and Greg Tucker Memorial Ride will be held Saturday to raise awareness and money for Children’s Hospital Burn Camp.
The event will begin at Murder Creek Customs, located at 1450 South Blvd., and ends at O’Bannon Park.
The ride is sponsored by Murder Creek Customs and the Brewton Fire Department in memory of Tucker, a Brewton firefighter who died of cancer in 2007.
Registration for the ride begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Murder Creek Customs, and the ride itself begins at 10 a.m. The cost to participate is $20 for a single rider, $25 for a couple. A meal is included in the registration fee. To register, contact Murder Creek Customs at 251-867-7788 or murdercreekcustoms@yahoo.com. The event is open to the public. Last year there were 108 bikes and this year organizers hope for 200 or more.
Participants can expect to enjoy live music, door prizes, a weenie bite contest, a 50/50 drawing, slow races and a tater race.
Proceeds from the event benefit the Burn Camp sponsored by the Children’s Hospital Burn Center, Alabama’s only pediatric burn center. Last year’s inaugural event raised $3,500.
Children’s Hospital is the 10th busiest pediatric medical center in the U.S. and treats children from across Alabama and throughout the Southeast. It is a private, not-for-profit hospital. Last year, children from Escambia County made more than 160 trips to Children’s to receive specialized treatment and care for illness and injury.
POker run