About 78 motorcyclists and three vehicle drivers came out in support of the sixth Justin Terney Memorial Poker Run on Sat., July 23.
They registered in front of the Pottawatomie County Courthouse with sponsor Ride Oklahoma Charities and took a group picture around the “Pottawatomie County Fallen Heroes” monument, where Justin Terney’s name is last on the list. A Tecumseh Police Officer, the 22-year-old Terney was killed during a traffic stop in 2017.
Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Deputy and event organizer Jesse McCord said an Asher Reserve Police Officer, Jarate Condit, has since passed in 2018, but there is no room to add his name to the monument. Condit said a second smaller monument is planned to be placed next to the present one, and he plans to organize another poker run to raise money for it in the future. This was the plan before the COVID pandemic hit and delayed it.
From the courthouse, the caravan headed north on Broadway Ave., traveled through McLoud, Chandler, and Meeker and returned to Shawnee, making four stops - a 70-mile round trip. The last stop was at the Shawnee VFW Post 1317, where there were also drawings and a live auction.
McCord said they raised $8,190, of “which $1,000 will go to Tecumseh school for scholarships, and the rest will go to the Pottawatomie County K-9 Program.”
