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The Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazine
First Annual Don Tilley Memorial Poker Run Story and photos by Alan Dockery estern Carolina Bikers were blessed with such a pretty blue sky day on the first Saturday in October(10/3). As I got ready to ride out, it was 42 degrees and the carburetors loved it. I found my winter gloves, zipped the sides on the helmet and snapped on the flip up face shield. I knew there would be hundreds of bikers at Tilley Harley-Davidson in Statesville, NC, breaking out their winter gear. As I rode down Highway 70 and slowed at the old dealership I started thinking about Don Tilley. It’s been six years since the biker world lost a legend and hero. But so often we still talk about Don and how we miss him. Not just my racing buddies, everyone has a Don Tilley story they tell with a big smile. There had been a couple small remembrance days when we went to the new dealership and rode a little. This year the family and staff had the first Don Tilley Memorial Ride and plan to make it an annual event. I was glad to see a great turn out with hundreds of bikers parked all around the building. The morning started with a brisk ride, but it was warming fast and folks were shedding layers. The ride was up one of Don’s favorite local routes for getting to the closest tightest twisty mountain roads. We went up through Hiddenite on Sulphur Springs road to Brushy Mountain road and back down Highway 115 past Love Valley to the shop. Back at Tilley H-D stories were shared, big laughs were heard, and a good time was enjoyed by everyone. Ol’ Bob’s provided a delicious BBQ, and local musician Dani Kerr and her band rocked us into the afternoon. Terry LeVan ran through the crowd with door prizes easily won by answering Tilley Trivia questions. Hey, we had winners of the poker run. Donny Tevepaugh had the best hand and Dave Carman drew the worst hand. The hands were so close they gave Todd Holland a prize for second place. As it turned out, both hands were won by such close margins Tilley awarded second place prizes to those who lost by one number in each case! I hung out inside for a bit listening to stories about Don and the race bikes. I answered folks questions, too since I can talk about those race machines and their histories. Antique Harleys were displayed outside. This was another mellow day to hang out at Tilley’s and tell stories about Don. We raised money for the Iredell County Sheriff Department’s Special Programs. To end the day, Sheriff Darrin Campbell addressed the group, and thanked the crowd. “Tilley Harley-Davidson, Don Tilley, and the whole family has always been supportive of the sheriff’s office,” Campbell said.
“When we were contacted and told that the proceeds from this poker run would benefit our activities, we were ecstatic. This will go to special programs like our Teen Academy and Athletic League plus the Spousal Auxiliary Group. We are blessed and honored. And so appreciative that people came and spent their Saturday helping us raise money to fund those projects,” Campbell said. It was great to see the Tilley family as it has grown over the years. Tilley’s is still a family run Harley-Davidson dealership. Generations of bikers have bought new bikes and accessories from the Tilley family. They gave me the following statement about the First Annual Don Tilley Memorial Poker Run. “A big thank you to everyone who made the First Annual Don Tilley Poker Run a fun time and a huge success. It was a pleasure seeing so many long-time friends in attendance to
