PIKEVILLE – In a little over a week the 19th annual Hillbilly Christmas in July ride will be held, as the group raises money for the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Lexington.
The ride, slated for July 20, will start in Pikeville and make its way through Prestonsburg and Salyersville, and end at the Mountain Arts Center, with everyone invited to participate – not just motorcycles.
Jimmy Kinney told Mortimer Media Group, “We’re trying to push our little ride this year – the Randy Jones Memorial Hillbilly Christmas in July Ride that we do each year. This is our 19th year and we’re trying to add a little excitement to it and make things a little bit better than last year. One of the big things we’re doing, we’re giving away $5,000 just on our ride.”
Each rider registers for $25 and will get a door ticket, and to encourage people to come out early and pre-register. At 9:30 a.m. the day of the ride they will draw two tickets, with each person winning $500. At 9:45 a.m., they close the books and at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 20, they pull out from Pikeville to begin the ride. Their first stop after leaving Pikeville will be at Stone Crest, in Prestonsburg, and they will pull two more tickets, with two more people winning $500 each. Then they’ll stop, again, at Ramey Memorial Park, in Salyersville, and will pull two more tickets, with the winners receiving $500 each, also. When they get to the MAC, they will draw four more tickets, each winning $500, for a total of $5,000 to be given out during the ride.
“This is getting a lot of attention right now and excitement, going through this, so we’re encouraging everybody to come by early and preregister for the ride,” Kinney said.
As they do each year, they will also be giving away a motorcycle that day, as well.
“Someone is going to win a $17,000 motorcycle for a $10 investment, so you definitely need to get your tickets for it,” Kinney said.
They’ll be set up at the MineShaft Harley-Davidson store in Pikeville from Monday through Saturday next week from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. for preregistrations and until the ride starts on Saturday. Kinney said people can fill out their tickets at MineShaft anytime before the ride for the ride and for a chance at the motorcycle, and people can register as many times as they want, but you have to be present to win.
“It’s going to be a good ride,” Kinney said. “Last year we had a little over 300 in this ride and who knows this year how many we’ll have, but all of our money goes directly to the Lexington Shriners Hospital, and we’re just trying to help our kids, help our community, and have some fun doing it.”
Kinney also specified that the cash prizes do not come from Hillbilly Christmas in July.
“This money is all sponsorship money, so the people that are sponsoring that pull will be the person or company to hand you the money,” Kinney said. “Hillbilly Christmas in July is too tight to be giving away $5,000, if you know us that well. We do have sponsors and next year, who knows, we may have more. Good things seem to happen every year.”
He said they have a lot of great door prizes, too, including a Blackstone Grill, big screen TV, and other big-ticket items that he assures Mortimer Media Group will not be hauled home on a motorcycle.
The first 18 years have been quite successful, with $876,000 raised and donated to the Lexington Shriners Hospital, and more than 50,000 toys.
“You put a $10 value on those toys, that’s a half million dollars,” Kinney said. “We built the first of its type, a totally handicap playground in the city of Pikeville in Bob Amos Park, behind the RV park, and we got over $300,000 tied up in it and we gave it to the city. We purchased a van for $26,500 and gave it to the El Hasa Temple for transportation for our kids, so we’ve been pretty active in the 18 years and our goal is to hit the $1 million mark in 20 years.”
While they’re glad to help with the funding, Kinney said they’re now focused on spreading the word about the hospital.
“If you know of a child who needs help, you do not have to have a referral from a doctor or anyone,” Kinney said “Call the hospital direct and they’ll set you up and, if you don’t have transportation, they will call the local Shriners club and get you transportation for your child. There’s no reason why, if you have a child you’re concerned about you don’t have it checked out by Shriners Hospital and it’s all free. If you have insurance, they’ll take it, and if you don’t have insurance, you’re fine. You don’t pay a co-pay or anything. We need to find that child who needs help and let’s get it help.”
To request a new patient appointment at Shriners Hospital for Children in Lexington, call 859-268-5675 or 800-444-8314.
