1000 Islands Charity Poker Run Organizers Take Matters Into Their Own Hands
The high-water woes that has plagued a large portion of the country has reached upstate New York and has threatened the overall success of the 1000 Islands Charity Poker Run, leaving most of the village docks at the scheduled lunch stop in Alexandria Bay, NY underwater and essentially unusable.
With the third installment of their highly successful Poker Run just days away, organizer Nolan Ferris and his team behind the Clayton, NY event decided not to let the high-water issues sink it for their attendees. But rather hunker down and roll up their sleeves. Literally.
“We purchased the materials ourselves and had a group of volunteers, including contractor Lance Peterson from Clayton (New York) that brought his whole (JR Construction) crew, and a friend of mine (Bruce) from New Jersey who’s a contractor and a friend of mine (Brian) from Pennsylvania who’s a contractor–drove up this morning to help us put this together today,” said Ferris. “We had a crew of 16 people and we nailed it out in about eight hours–600 feet of dock, three feet wide.”
After dealing with the town of Alexandria Bay for over a month regarding this issue, Ferris decided last week that it had to be done and to handle it themselves, mainly for the participants who will be traveling great lengths to experience this event–many for the first time.
The Poker Run, which is a 160-mile run out and back across the St. Lawrence River highlighted by picturesque castles and scenery, benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York and River Hospital, which provides Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatment to America’s heroes–past and present.
After the docks were installed and complete, the group received a generous $1000 donation from Carnegie Bay Marina in Alexandria Bay for their efforts. The fasteners were provided at cost from Garlock Lumber, also in “Alex Bay.”
In only their third year of running this event, it’s clear that the team truly cares about it and its success. They are excited that so many new people will be coming to the small town of Clayton for some big fun and promises a charity presentation not to be soon forgotten.
