Weekend poker ride nets ILCC scholarship dollars

(Photo by Kris Todd) Steve Turner and Kris Roeber of Estherville were the first to arrive at the Spencer campus of Iowa Lakes Community College during the college's sixth annual poker ride to raise money for student scholarships. Following Saturday's motorcycle ride, the couple rode to Dubuque and married on Sunday. [Order this photo]

Over 200 participated in the sixth annual Iowa Lakes Foundation Scholarship poker ride. Saturday's event traversed from the college's Algona campus to its Emmetsburg, Spencer, Spirit Lake and Estherville campuses.

"We raise anywhere from about $7,000 - $10,000 from this; so it's a nice fundraiser for us," said Shan Ray, Iowa Lakes Community College's executive director of institutional advancement. "I think we were able to give out $10,000 in scholarships for this fall from last year's event. The ride also gets people out to all our campuses."

Steve Turner and Kris Roeber, both of Estherville, were the first to arrive at the Spencer campus Saturday morning. Riding a 2008 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic, Turner, an ILCC computer technician, and Roeber, an Estherville Lincoln Central High School physical science and astronomy teacher, squeezed the poker ride in before leaving for Dubuque, where they wed on Sunday.

"I passed him on the highway for over 1 1/2 years; we waved at each other. And then last year, before I did Upward Bound at the college, I went in and asked who was driving the green SUV and the motorcycle," Roeber explained of the time leading up to their courtship. "The rest is history. It was love at first sight."

The weekend's weather wasn't as cooperative as it had been in past years. Saturday morning's downpour delayed some motorcyclists in their arrival at the Spencer campus as they chose to remain dry in an Emmetsburg campus building.

Atop her Harley-Davidson Heritage Soft Tail, Alene Curry of Estherville, an Emmet County State Bank employee, was among those who got caught in the rain Saturday morning. Curry, who's participated all six years of the ride, was encouraged to participate its first year by friend Val Newhouse, executive vice president of the college.

"She got us going the first year, and it's just been so much fun ever since. It's gotten bigger every year," Curry said of the poker ride.

The weekend ride marked the second for Bruce and Jan Henderson of Odebolt. The rain garb-adorned couple, along with Tom Johnson, a state of Kansas investigator who recently retired in Dickinson County, were among those riding Honda motorcycles. The trio are also members of the northwest Iowa chapter of the international fraternal organization Blue Knights, which consists of active and retired law enforcement men and women who enjoy riding motorcycles.

"We enjoy going on a poker run that's alcohol-free," said 1974 ILCC alumnus Bruce Henderson, the chief of police in Odebolt.

From Spencer, the motorcyclists enjoyed sunshine as they traversed the poker ride's last leg to the Estherville campus of ILCC.