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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Motorcyclists Hit Road To Help Save Christmas

By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
    Chilly weather and the threat of a winter storm did not stop some Harley-Davidson motorcyclists from bringing Christmas presents for area children last weekend.
    About 30 Albuquerque and Moriarty riders wearing black leather and warm winter hats showed up at the Moriarty Civic Center on Sunday with donated toys and money for the Moriarty Lions Club annual gift giveaway.
    "I have a whole new respect for Santa Claus now," said Valerie Arévelo of Moriarty, referring to the wintry weather.
    Arévelo and Red Maxwell, her husband, rode their Harley-Davidson to Albuquerque. With two board games and soccer balls stuffed into their luggage compartment-toy bag, the couple drove the toys back to Moriarty.
    Sunday's event was organized by Moriarty Lions Club members Don and Karen Trumbull along with Mike Lovato, special event coordinator for the Thunderbird Harley-Davidson Buell dealership in Albuquerque— who drove a truck filled with toys to the event— and Rick Morley, a bike-riding customer.
    Morley said it put a lump in his throat when he saw on the news that the Moriarty Lions Club storage space at Moriarty Self Storage had been robbed on Nov. 14.
    Lions Club members had been storing the toys in preparation for their annual gift giveaway to needy children in the area. About 55 toys were stolen.
    "I think we'll end up with a lot more kids this year," Don Trumbull said.
    Santa Claus will give the presents to children on Sunday at the Moriarty Lions Club building at 515 Lions Court, off north Broadway in Moriarty, from noon to 4 p.m., Trumbull said.
    "If there's still a line, Santa will stay until the last (child) gets a present," Trumbull promised.
    Lovato estimated the gifts brought by the biker group and set around a lighted Christmas tree at the civic center cost about $1,200. He also brought a check of collected donations for $800 to the Lions Club.
    Food was donated for the riders by El Comedor de Anayas restaurant and other members of the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce, chamber executive director Debbie Ortiz said.
    Lions Club members from the Santa Fe Host, Las Cruces de Noche, Capitan "Smokey Bear," Rio Rancho, Alameda, Rio Grande, Santa Fe Capital, Albuquerque Northeast and Albuquerque Breakfast chapters also showed up Sunday to assist, said Robert Callender from the Capitan "Smokey Bear" Lions Club.
    Local Lions members wrapped the presents Monday evening. All of the employees of First Community Bank in Moriarty brought over cookies and helped out, said branch manager DeeAnn Orio.
    Other New Mexico Lions Clubs also donated money to the Moriarty club's annual gift giveaway.
    Lee Boyd Montgomery said the state Lions Club meeting generated $420.
    "That morning we found out about the break-in in Moriarty," so members had a raffle that raised money during the meeting, Montgomery said.
    "To those that thought they could ruin a Christmas, it goes against everything I stand for," Lovato said.