Marie Devinney and Dusty Pearson, along with the rest of the Pitching and Riding committee members are gearing up for the annual Pitching and Riding Event to benefit Hospice & Community Care Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1. Each year, this devoted group of community volunteers gathers together to plan and host an annual event to support Hospice & Community Care.
The committee made some changes for the 2019 event. “This year, pitching and riding have switched places. We moved the ride to Saturday so we can add new venues for our riders and make the ride longer. We have fewer stops, and we moved the horseshoe pitch to Sunday, which will be held at Jokers,” said Dusty.
“We started preparing for this year’s event in January to try and add something new. Right now, we are in crunch time. Committee members are collecting raffle money, t-shirt money, and $100 club membership money. This year the t-shirts have an “In memory” portion to the shirts, and for $25 you can have a loved one’s name printed on the shirt. This customization was offered last year, and we had people commemorating their love for one another, so we are offering this again this year.”
The Pitching and Riding organizers are happy to accept any donations in support of this event. “If anyone wants to help, we are always looking for donations or auction items. We will take anything, anything at all. This year we had a business donate a pallet of sod for the raffle,” said Marie. “Cash, gift cards, or merchandise, we would love to have them. One year we had a bouncy house donated – the winner was able to have the company come set up a bouncy house for a party. We even had a goat and a kayak donated last year. It is all in good fun. We get donations for hotel stays, tours, or tickets to interesting attractions, such as the Ripley’s Aquarium in Tennessee. This year we will have auctions both days, as well as a silent auction. And we will pull the raffle ticket winner for the $500 gift card for Academy on Sunday.”
According to Dusty, food contributions are also needed and welcome. “We need Boston butts, slaw, baked beans, hotdogs, hamburgers, and rolls for the two-day event. If anyone wants to donate or participate, please email or call us. We are doing this for Hospice & Community Care. The more people who participate or donate, the more money will be available for Hospice. And if people have not been touched by Hospice & Community Care, they likely will be at some point in their lives. And Hospice will be there.”
“For those who are interested in watching or participating in the ride, we are going to start the ride Saturday at the American Legion. We invite you to come and see how many bikers participate each year because it is one of the largest bike runs that takes place in Rock Hill,” shared Dusty. “For those who want to ride, be at the Legion at 11 am to sign-up, and kickstands will be up at 12 pm for the start. The ride will take between two and a half and five hours to complete. Riders must stop at each of the stops to be included in the High/Low roll. This year the stops include Creekside Grill & Ale, Frog’s Bar & Grill, 21 Roadhouse, and the riders will end up at Jokers Bar & Grill, 1312 Neely’s Creek Rd, Rock Hill.”
“After the ride, there will be a band, Angel Incident live at Jokers, door prizes, a live auction, 50/50, $5 raffle tickets, and a BBQ dinner (food is included for riders, non-riders pay $7 a plate). At Sunday’s horseshoe event, there will also be a live auction, raffle, and 50/50 for participants and spectators, as well as hot dog plates. Sign-up for pitching will be from 11 am to 1 pm. It is a draw, so you do not know who your partner will be, two-person team, and double elimination. Last year, the winning team included an eleven-year boy. He and his partner both donated a portion of their winnings back to Hospice,” said Dusty.
“Every year brings something different,” said Marie. “You meet so many different people, people you have never met before who have never heard of this ride. And just because it is for Hospice & Community Care, they want to participate. They have been touched by Hospice in some way, and they want to come out and give back. This is one way they can give back, by participating in our ride, bidding on our auction items, and buying the food that we sell.”
If you have questions or wish to be part of the event, you can contact Donation Committee Chair, Dusty Pearson at msdusty1@gmail.com or 704-608-0943 or Corporate Sponsors Chair, Marie Devinney at mdevinney@comporium.net or 803-417-3424.