With leather jackets and engines revving, Utah Tech University’s Veteran and Military Services’ “Freedom Rocks” Poker Run kicked off with a morning ride to local state parks.
The “Freedom Rocks” Poker Run was a motorcycle ride held April 12 to support Utah Tech’s veteran students through a scholarship fundraiser. The motivation behind the scholarship is to allow every veteran student the financial resources they need to achieve their educational goals.
Karl Watters, director of Veteran and Military Services, said about 15% of the veteran students enrolled have unmet financial needs from tuition and fees that are not covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs educational benefits. He said of that percentage, a handful end up walking away from their education before the amount becomes insurmountable, which is where his inspiration for the event came from.
“I could raise some money and provide a scholarship fund that would meet those veterans with unmet financial needs,” Watters said. “It came about as kind of combining two things that I love. I love serving veterans, and I love riding motorcycles.”
At the event, community members, veterans and students were welcomed by two humvees and smiling faces at the check-in tables. Participants signing in were given T-shirts, a map of the route and a cup of coffee. The route consisted of stops at all the local state parks including Gunlock State Park, Snow Canyon State Park, Quail Creek State Park and Sand Hollow State Park.
“One of the things that will make my poker run different from other poker runs is I’m providing a photographer at each one of these stops to capture them and their motorcycles in these iconic backgrounds,” Watters said.
People without motorcycles were able to participate and support veterans by riding the route in their cars. Additionally, the event featured a raffle where participants could purchase tickets for a chance of winning prizes. Prizes included items like a Ruger American Gen ll, a Red Mountain Resort complimentary two-night stay for two, a Pecan Valley Resort season pass, a Harley-Davidson s’mores kit, and gift cards.
Grant Ball, a junior English education major from Salt Lake City, was one of the veteran students who also rode in the event. Ball said he was inspired to participate after hearing Watters’ inspiration for the event and hopes to help students get their degrees.
“It’s been about 10 years since I got out of the military, and even in that amount of time, there still is a level of camaraderie and sense of tribe that I felt in the veteran community,” Ball said. “So, I was pleased at the opportunity to not only spend time with the veteran community but also in collaboration with a hobby that I love.”
Some of the poker run participants included members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, which was also a platinum sponsor of the event. The CVMA is a nonprofit veterans organization that assists veterans through sponsorships, donations and charity events.
Kami McConnell, one of the members of the association, said they donate every bit of money they raise to support veterans, whether it is buying wheelchairs or paying for dental work. She said they usually donate about $25,000 a year to veterans in need of assistance in local locations like St. George, Cedar City or Richfield.
Regarding the event, McConnell said, “It shows support for the community, the university, for your fellow chapters, for your other bike clubs or associations, and that’s what we try to do at CVMA.”
CVMA will be holding its 10th anniversary poker run June 7 in Cedar City, and all proceeds will be donated back to veterans. McConnell said this will be another great event to support CVMA and veterans.
The “Freedom Rocks” Poker Run route ended back at the university, where the riders were welcomed by Chick-fil-A for lunch. Raffle winners were announced, laughs were shared and scholarship money was raised to help Utah Tech’s veteran students.
“We [Veteran and Military Services] have a community here on campus that’s super patriotic, and the community at large is super patriotic in general,” Watters said. “I just wish we would get more participation from the student body for these events to show their patriotism and their love for their country.”
