Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Smoky River Ryders Riding Club (SRRRC) held its second annual Show and Shine Aug. 5 in McLennan, drawing nearly 150 people throughout the day.
The group started holding the Show and Shine as a way to raise funds to help individuals in the region and surrounding communities. They are well-known in the area for their efforts to help people access food and other necessities when they are in need.
“When we look at community, it is not only those who live in town, it is the surrounding area as well as our biking community,” says SRRRC president Tammy Stout, who adds she is impressed with the number of people who attended and the distances they travelled.
“We had people from McLennan, Falher, Donnelly, Girouxville, High Prairie, Driftpile, Paddle Prairie, Sunset House, Peace River, Peavine, East Prairie, Sucker Creek, Slave Lake, Grande Prairie, Grande Cache and even Edmonton,” she adds.
The Show and Shine also featured a poker rally, tattoo artist, home-based businesses, beer gardens, entertainment, and food trucks and booths. All proceeds from the event will be going toward the Community Christmas event the group will be putting on for the community.
“We raised $1,000 cash and over $1,500 worth of toys, we also received two turkeys from a community member for the Community Christmas event dinner,” says Stout.
“We will continue to accept donations from other organizations and individuals who would like to participate,” she adds.
Winners for the Show and Shine included Andy Gauthier in the car event, Jerry Cloutier in the bike event, and Dominic Matula in the truck event. There were 22 entries in the Show and Shine.
“The highlight for the day would have to be the donations that we received for the Toys for Tots, that we will be using for our Community Christmas event,” says Stout.
“Peace River Performance Club’s Justin Thomson came from Peace River in his Chevy Camero full of donations from their organization. The table was spilling over with toys that were donated from everyone, it was so heart-warming to see the generosity.”
The club also added a poker rally to their event this year to help generate extra money for their Christmas Dinner and to have extra things for people to do.
“We are a motorcycle club and what we love to do most is to ride,” she says. “We love to support our community and we love to give back. By adding the poker rally, we were able to do the three things we love most at the same time.”
Stout says a large part of the reason the club holds so many events through the year, in addition to raising money to help people, is to educate people in the area about what riding clubs are about. She says there is usually a lot of misunderstanding and stigma associated with clubs and they hope to change people’s minds.
Stout says they plan on hosting the Show and Shine again next year, as she feels it’s a great opportunity to bring people together and to raise money to help people in the community.
“So far this year we were able to donate money to Ryan Rondeau to help support him with his boccia ball, we donated to the Smoky River Regional Golf Course, to the Ecole Providence School, to the McLennan Hockey Moms, to Fas Gas, and to the Smoky River Mud Boggers,” she says.
“This is what the Smoky River Ryders are all about, helping where we can, when we can, and for what we can.”
The club also volunteered their time to work as security and to cook burgers at the Mud Bogs in Donnelly last weekend.
“I think our biggest motivator is being able to give back, we are all born and raised here, and we love our little town,” she says.
“We involve as many people as we can to bring us all together. We all have the same idea that we want to help our communities and the members in the area.”
Smoky River Ryders Riding Club continues to accept donations of toys, food, and cash for the Community Christmas event. If you are interested in donating, you can reach Stout at (780) 536-4019.
