By Karen Degnan Parks, Times Writer
Every year since 1996, the Reading Motorcycle Club holds a Bike and Rod Cruise-In on the second Saturday in August, the proceeds of which are donated to a local person in need.
This year’s event will take place on Aug. 8, and the 2009 beneficiary is Erica Ebner of Blandon.
The event will take place on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 208 Jefferson Street in Oley (rain date is Sunday, August 9 from 1 – 4 p.m.). The entry fee is $7 for adults and free for children under 16. All proceeds will be donated to Erica Ebner.
Like most teenagers, 14-year-old Erica enjoys watching movies and eating Chinese food, yet unlike her peers, she has been battling brain cancer for the past three years.
In 2006, Erica was living with a foster family in North Carolina when her foster parents noticed weakness in the left side of her body. They took her for an MRI, and the cancerous brain tumor was identified.
After two years of moving around and not receiving all of the medical treatment she required, finally in June 2008, Erica and her nine-year-old brother, Eric, were allowed to move up to Pennsylvania to live with their grandparents, Bertha and Conley Wyatt of Blandon.
The Wyatts were up to the challenge of taking in their grandchildren and steadfast in their commitment to help Erica get well.
“We’re all working together and getting through it,” explained Bertha. “We just try to do things together. Hugs, they say, get you through things.”
Erica has been through radiation treatments, chemotherapy, and a 14.5-hour surgery in October that successfully removed the tumor.
Before surgery, a guidance counselor arranged for Erica to speak with Austin Conrad, a seventh grader who also is dealing with serious health issues and had gone through a similar surgery. He gave Erica hope and told her not to worry.
Austin and his mother, Corinne, then wrote a letter to the RMC encouraging them to consider Erica as the 2009 Cruise-In beneficiary.
Club members were touched by both Erica’s and Austin’s stories and decided to have dual beneficiaries for this year’s event; however, in a selfless move, Austin declined.
“Austin said we should just let Erica be the beneficiary,” said RMC Coordinator Kerry Joffred. “It was a sign of unselfishness at its best.”
Although Erica has been through a lot and has some lasting damage, like the loss of sight in her left eye, she still tries to stay positive and hopeful.
“There’s a couple times I break down,” she shared, “then I realize it’s going to be all right.”
Erica and her grandparents were surprised and extremely grateful when Joffred contacted them about Erica being chosen as the 2009 beneficiary.
“I didn’t know there were so many people out there willing to help people in need,” said Bertha. “We just can’t thank them enough.”
More about the cruise-in:
The event will kick off with a cruise-in from 3 – 6 p.m., where RMC members and the general public are invited to show off their motorcycles, hot rods, custom cars, vans, or trucks, or just come to the event to mingle and check out participant’s vehicles. The first 250 participants will receive dash plaques.
An oldies band, Headliners, will perform during the cruise-in, and there will be food stands, clothing vendors, a beer garden, and games, including a dime toss, driveshaft toss, and Polish quoits. Drag races start at 6 p.m. and are expected to continue until around 9 p.m.
Since its inception 13 years ago, the event continues to get bigger. Last year, approximately 1,000 people attended, and event planners Rich Keller, Bob Beissel, and Kerry Joffred expect this year’s turnout to be just as strong.
“I think people really are enjoying what we do,” said Joffred.
Prior to the Cruise-In event, as they have for the past three years, the club hosted a reunion to bring together past beneficiaries to visit with each other and meet this year’s recipient.
The reunion was held on July 29 and past beneficiaries Gavin Owens (2008), Sean “Cody” Fretz (2007), Alexandra “Lexi” Rae Portner (2006), Anthony Minotto (2003), Rachel Gardner (1998), and their families gathered and welcomed Erica to the group.
“I like doing this because it brings everyone together,” Joffred said. “They look forward to coming.”
Gardner added, “I like to see the new people. I love that they do this.”
During the reunion, Joffred expressed his concern about how people can sometimes be quick to judge club members because of the way they look.
He hopes that events such as the Cruise-In help the public see members for what they are, people who care and want to make a positive difference in the community.
“Underneath all that leather,” he said, “there’s a lot of heart.”
For more information about the 14th Annual Bike and Rod Cruise-In, visit www.readingmc.com or call 610-987-6422. Donations to benefit Erica can be sent
c/o Reading Motorcycle Club to 208 Jefferson Street, Oley, PA 19547.
