By By Adrienne McKenzie
Area bikers traveled across Escambia County Saturday to raise money for Greg Tucker, a Brewton fireman of nine years who is suffering with cancer.
According to Tucker's wife, Sandra Tucker, the Brewton Fire Department started putting together the event when Greg told them he had cancer.
"He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March," Sandra Tucker said. "He is a fire fighter at the Brewton Fire Department and they decided they'd do this for him when he was diagnosed."
Chief Lawrence Weaver at Brewton Fire Department said the bikers began in Brewton around 10:30 a.m. and got back to Brewton around 2 p.m.
"We left Brewton, went to Atmore, Huxford, went to Barnett Crossroads and back to Brewton to O'Bannon Park, where our Drill Field is located," Weaver said.
Bikers had to pay to register for the ride and around 145 individuals were registered, some riding on the back of motorcycles. Weaver said there were probably less than 100 bikes present, but the registration fees were per person. Money was also raised by individuals participating in a card drawing at each stop.
"We raised about $5,500," Weaver said. "There was a poker run. They paid $5 to play. At each stop they would draw a card out of the bag, the person with the winning hand at the end donated that money back to Greg."
Atmore Fire &Rescue Department Chief Gerry McGhee said he was pleased to participate in the bike run.
"We were glad we could help a fellow fireman out," McGhee said. "We'll do anything we can to help him."
Weaver was gracious to those who helped throughout the event.
"We want to thank local police and fire departments for providing stations for us to stop and for helping us block roads," he said.
Sandra Tucker was also thankful to those who participated in the bike run, as well as businesses that donated items for the event and police and fire departments that were helpful during the day. According to Weaver, the businesses include, Southern Pine, Wal-Mart, Farmer's Exchange, Southern Family Markets, Winn Dixie, Pearson Archery, Marvin's, AutoZone, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Kenny's Motor Sports, Citation Corporation, Cannon's Carpet and Odom's Bar.
"I want to thank everybody," she said. "There were a lot of people involved. Joey Luttrell and chief Weaver worked together to put the ride together. All the police departments and fire departments helped out as far as handing out water. I want to thank the communities for pulling together. Merchants donated different items, from purses to motorcycle helmets, and there was a silent auction. It's phenomenal to know that in this day and time communities will still pull together in a time of crisis. People we don't even know were there. I knew Greg was a likeable person but I didn't know he was this loved."