By David Austin
Over the past few months, several people worked together to host a community event benefiting the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial. Nazih Al-Mufleh and many members of Red Dirt Jeeps hosted a large poker run to raise money and show support for the area police officers. In addition, Judy Austin, of Red Dirt Jeeps (RDJ) and C4x4.com, and Rex Van Meter, the President of Integris Canadian Valley Hospital of Yukon, Oklahoma and also a RDJ member, wanted to show appreciation to the members of RDJ for all they had done for the community.

Since Integris had a spacious parking lot which was not used on the weekends, they allowed us to host the event on a Saturday outside of the facility. It didn't stop there; Integris provided volunteers, breakfast, a bounce house, face painting and games for the kids, a tent to provide us protection from the weather, and free safety and first aid presentations by one of Integris' own emergency room doctors. In addition, free health screenings were offered which entered you into a drawing for a new gas grill. Yes, Itegris selflessly gave their time, people, and financial resources to make this event happen.

The Canadian County Sheriff's Department was also in attendance. They drove their new Special Operations 6X6 over for display, and even allowed the kids to climb inside. Everyone seemed to enjoy getting an up-close look at the monster vehicle. HANK FM 99.7 supported us by providing music all day during the event's activities.

While the activities at the hospital were underway, Jeep participants rolled in to register for the Poker Run. To register, we asked each participant to donate a stuffed animal. The stuffed animals were then donated to area police departments, so officers could give them to needy children.

At 11:00AM it was time to pick the winner for the drawing. Michael Gonzalez won a brand new gas grill. After the winning announcement, the Jeeps left to get their cards for the Poker Run. As the last of the Jeeps rolled out, we packed all of the stuffed animals up and headed to the Oklahoma County Training Track, the last stop of the Poker Run. Once all of the participants arrived, we were able to hold a raffle of prizes, donated by our event's supporters to end the day.

In the end, the event raised over $2486.00 for the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial and more than 200 stuffed animals were donated to local police departments.

We want to thank RexVan Meter and Integris Canadian Valley Hospital of Yukon for all of the support for making this event a reality. Also we thank Hank FM, Canadian County Sheriff's Department, and all the police personnel that took time out of their day to support us. Last, but certainly not least, we want to thank the members of Red Dirt Jeeps for their countless hours of preparation and making this a successful event.

God Bless You and Yours
Okie Out- David Austin

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