The 3rd Annual Crawl 4 the Cure was held July 20-22, 2007 and was a smashing success. HTR 4x4 Club and Twin City Off Road (TCOR) would, again, like to thank all the participants & sponsors for the overwhelming support that we have received over the last 3 years. Our 3 year total is just over $82,000 . This year's event raised over $37,000 alone.
HTR and TCOR held the first Crawl 4 the Cure in 2005 as a way for OHV enthusiasts to raise awareness for our sport and help out a great cause at the same time. As always the event was held in Gilbert, MN at the Iron Range Off Highway Vehicle Recreation Area (IROHVRA). All money raised, including 100% of participant donations, was donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The event was set up the same as last years Crawl 4 the Cure with participants being asked for a minimum of $250 in donations as an “entrance fee”. This entrance fee entitled the participant to trail rides at the IROHVRA, the banquet dinner and raffle, as well as an impromptu “Thank You” barbeque dinner held by HTR and TCOR on Saturday night. The event is open to anyone with a four wheel drive vehicle and caters to all levels of vehicles and experience.
As in years past, we owe a ton of gratitude to the participants. None of it would be possible without people taking time out of their busy lives to raise money and help the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Of all the money raised at the event, 40% goes to fight MS on a national level and 60% stays here with the Minnesota Chapter of the National MS Society.
The event kicked off on Friday with registration & open trail riding. The event is based out of Sherwood Forest campground in Gilbert and was attended by participants from around the country, we even had one guy from the east coast! Once checked-in participants could set up their camps and many took the opportunity to visit the IROHVRA to see what the weekend would have in store. HTR and TCOR hosted an impromptu BBQ in the evening as a way of saying "Thank you" to all the participants, sponsors and people that came out to show their support. Burgers & brats were consumed by the masses.
We also had a special event happen up there on Friday evening as part of the festivities. Richard & Katherine Gorr were married down by the lake & then came over to enjoy our BBQ which they actually sponsored.
The trail rides began on Sunday. Participants lined up in the staging area of the IROHVRA and after a brief welcome, departed to their designated trails. Members of HTR and TCOR led trail rides that were available for all levels of difficulty and no trail in the park went untouched. The opportunity to challenge driver and vehicle was embraced by all.
Many of the participants fell victim to the parks awesome challenges. Many driveshafts, axle shafts & even a 3rd member became casualties of the day. The park is not prejudiced at all. No brand was left unharmed. Including a For, Jeep, Chevy, Dodge, & even Toyota.
When the trail rides concluded it was time for the banquet dinner and the raffle. Famous Dave's catered the dinner and with everyone chowing down, this year's awards were handed out. The "Hope Award" is handed out each year to the participant who raises the most money. This year's winners were Scott & Krissy Potter who raised $1500.
The next award was the "Sportsman Award" which goes to the person everyone is excited to wheel with, who always provides laughter and is always wearing a smile. This year's award was given to Dan Blackman. He was such a huge supporter of us & the event, that it just had to go to him. Thanks again Dan! It's participants like him that make this all worth while. This year's "Best Engineered Vehicle" went to Roger Wald for his YJ on 2 ½ ton axles. The thing seems to work as well as it is built. There must be something in the water up in the northwest corner of Minnesota, because all of their rigs are really awesome. The "Worst Broke" award went to Jeremy Johnson. Not only was he fighting various issues all day, but when the 9 inch carrier blew up, that was it. He had to take the trophy home. Speaking of trophies. We had some pretty spectacular ones to hand out this year. Customs Classics & Rods in Elk River donated all of the material & time to make these absolute works of art. Thanks so much Tom! I’m sure they are being displayed proudly by the winners.
The raffle was another big success this year. Prizes ranged from t-shirts to a set of tires and were estimated in total value at $10,000. This year, we had a coupke grand prizes. One was a set of 4 Pit bull tires & the other was a Warn winch/ compressor combo. Donated by Burnsville Offroad. As always, Burnsville offroad was a huge part of our event. They donated a ton of parts for the raffle, jeep, as well as door prizes, not to mention sponsorship money as well. After dinner guests signed up for Sunday's trail rides.
We also owe a special thank you to two of our local sponsors. Fun Time Rental & Woody’s Liquors. They came out of nowhere, at the last minute & offered to help in any way they could with our event. They really welcomed our group & made us feel at home.
Our last order of business that evening was to give away the 1995 Jeep Wrangler that we had built from the ground up. This vehicle was a really nice example of a mild trail machine, that could be used for all types of terrain. The thing works great & we were almost sad to see it go. The winners were drawn & immediately called. They accepted with a lot of joy of course. See the pics in the build up for more on this. The raffle raised about $15,000 of our $35,000 total for that weekend.
Sunday’s crowd had dwindled due to overnight rain storms, but those that held on, were treated to a nice Sunday of wheelin’.
HTR and TCOR would again like to thank all the participants, sponsors and people that made this year's event a bigger success than last years. Big thanks also go to the City of Gilbert for being such a supportive and gracious host. We look forward to next year's Crawl 4 the Cure when we hope to increase our fundraising total again. It was a great pleasure to see members of the OHV community come together for a cause like Multiple Sclerosis and have so much fun in the process.
H.T.R. 4x4 Club and TCOR are looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2008 and hopefully making many new friends. Until then…………..