On Saturday, Oct. 3, Concordia residents saw more than the usual hustle and bustle of Saturday in downtown; full of people, events and the famous Cloud County Toy Run. motorcycle enthusiasts return to Toy Run events across the nation year after year, but the local fundraiser saw some fresh faces among the parade of bikers, classic cars and Santa Claus riding atop a fire department chase truck.
A Toy Run is a fundraising event organized by local volunteers that gathers up Christmas toys and funds to provide gifts to local children around the holidays. Every participant brings at least one toy with their motorcycle or classic car to donate toward local children.
Russell Disney is the captain for the Christian Motorcycle Association from Abilene who attended with a few other association members Collen and Mike McGee. While it was Disney’s third time attending the Cloud County Toy Run, it was the McGee’s first.
“I try and do as many toy runs as I can every year,” Disney said. “Every year, I try to do one more than I did the year before.”
Disney said that he strives to help Kansas children receive Christmas gifts due to his own life experiences, and aims to bring others along the way with him as a road captain for CMA.
According to Collen McGee, she and Mike enjoy participating in Toy Run events because it gives them the opportunity to shop for Christmas toys once more after their children grew into adulthood. The McGee’s said that they enjoyed the Toy Run event and plan to attend next year as well.
The fundraising event is a joint venture between multiple community organizations and members, including Concordia Lions Cub Secretary Camey Thurner and California Phil’s owner Phil Sudduth. According to the pair, they enjoyed seeing the high turnout for participants and parade goers.
“It was nice to see so many people lined up to watch,” Sudduth said. “We had success with the auction and I’m just looking forward to Christmastime to get these kids some great gifts.”
More than 70 motorcycles participated in the parade that began at the Concordia National Guard Armory into downtown alongside almost a dozen classic cars. The Toy Run had a new auction location this year, which was Warehouse 315.
According to Thurner, while the amount of toys and cash gathered at the event is great, the need usually grows larger, especially as the Holidays approach.
“The needs always grow as we get closer to Christmas,” Thurner said. “I’m expecting more than usual just based off of my experience with the amount of people we have coming to the Cloud County Community Suppers.”
Sudduth and Thurner encourage any residents that want to donate more toys or funds to visit their drop-off locations including California Phil’s, Folley Equipment and CloudCorp in Concordia.
