Lewis County and its sheriff’s office hosted the second annual Breast Cancer Awareness Poker Run/Walk Tuesday to raise money for the Lewis County Breast Cancer Support group.
The event, organized by the county with special support from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, invited locals to sign up for a very active game of poker and get moving to raise money for locals fighting breast cancer or for the many who have already survived their battle.
As of Thursday evening, the event raised twice the amount of last year’s, bringing in $4,881, with the potential for more to come in with an ongoing raffle that closed the following day. Last year, the first convening of the new local event raised $2,310.
According to Lewis County employee Rachel Lester, the addition of the raffle this year made all the difference.
“A key change this year was the addition of a raffle. We decided to try this new model in hopes of increasing donations, and it really paid off,” Lester said. “Last year, we received a large number of prize donations from local businesses, and we realized that incorporating those prizes into a raffle could help raise even more funds for the Lewis County Breast Cancer Support Group.”
While the raffle added an extra dimension, the core of the event was still a run and walk with two different routes that motivated participants with trying to create the best poker hand possible.
The goal of the event was to run along a route to different stations, drawing a playing card at each station. The person with the best poker hand at the end of the event was given first prize while the individual with the worst poker hand earned the runner-up prize.
A smaller prize, a coffee gift card from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, was also handed out to those who drew a joker, which could also be used as a freebie or wild card for a participant's poker hand.
Participants had the choice between a shorter, four-stop, 1-mile route or a longer 2-mile, six-stop route that gave participants more chances to pull cards and a better chance at claiming the top prize.
The final winner took the title with the best five-card poker hand consisting of four aces and a queen.
