Members of the Chickaree Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club held an event Sunday looking to raise money for one of the club members fighting a rare form of cancer.
Organizers of the annual Snowmobile Poker Run said many members of the club are not being deterred by not being able to hop on a snowmobile, but the weather may have thinned the crowd a little.
Alan Martin, a member since the club was started said, “We've always had this event snow or no snow. Obviously, we'd have a way bigger turn out if we had the snow.”
He said the poker run has been an annual event for nearly 40 years at the chickaree ridge runners snow mobile club that raises money for an area resident in need.
This year it is fellow club member Jeff Ellenberger.
“It was a no-brainer for us. Jeff's been a club member for a long time. He's been around in the club actually longer than me,” Chickaree Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club president Douglas Johnston said. “When we have one of our own to do this for, it's even more important to do it for them.”
Ellenberger is battling a rare form of cancer called Nasopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
“It's a face cancer that he got in his sinuses,” Johnston said. “He's unable to talk. He lost a lot of weight over it.”
The event raises between $1,500 and $3,000 according to organizers and they hope it can go a long way in helping their longtime clubmate.
Johnston said this year is the 50th anniversary for the club.
To learn more about the club visit its Facebook page. There is also a GoFundMe page for Ellenberger.
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