RE/MAX Premier will hold its 6th annual Rock-N-Ride fund-raiser to benefit the ChildrenÕs Miracle Network Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Northern Virginia Community CollegeÕs Loudoun Campus.
The event will include a 70-mile motorcycle ride to historic Gettysburg, Pa., and a block party with the classic rock cover band, Wild Card. It is the first time that the event has been hosted in Loudoun County and it is co-sponsored by the Loudoun County Crime Commission and the Loudoun County Sheriff Department.
Participants can register online or at 8 a.m. on the day of the event. The police-escorted motorcycle ride will begin at 9 a.m. with an estimated return time of about 1 p.m. The block party will run from 12 until 3 p.m. and includes food stands, raffles and a silent auction in addition to the live band, with all proceeds going to the charity. Individuals can also donate to the ChildrenÕs Miracle Network on the Rock-N-Ride Web site.
THE EVENT was founded in 2002 by Tom Donegan, owner of RE/MAX premier, and former Washington Redskin and sales associate, David Harbour. Over the past five years, the motorcycle ride has raised more than $120,000 for ChildrenÕs Hospital in Washington, D.C. The ChildrenÕs Miracle Network is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for childrenÕs hospitals, medical research and childrenÕs health issues.
Last year, about 60 people participated in the motorcycle ride but Donegan hopes for an even larger turnout this year in both the ride and at the block party. Debbie Tamborra, spokesperson for RE/MAX Premier, describes the Rock-n-Ride as a "real family-oriented event."
Sheriff Steve Simpson says that the SheriffÕs Office will be providing a number of displays for the event, including a dive unit, a K9 unit, a bomb team with their robot and the fatal vision goggles along with a cone course to navigate. Four motorcycle officers will escort the riders from the block party to Maryland and back at the end of the ride.
Simpson describes the event as a wonderful program and a wonderful opportunity to donate to a deserving charity.
"As a parent of four children and three grandchildren, thereÕs a soft spot in my heart for any program thatÕs for the betterment of children," he said.