The first Roll on Columbus is now history, and thanks to the support and hard work of our sponsors and volunteers, the day was a win/win for our thousands of participants and especially for the kids at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Although the skies threatened at times, the day-long event kicked off with dealer rides in the morning and never stopped rockin’ until the drawing for the beautiful custom bobber, built by Beckner’s House of Rides, was held about 8pm that night. In between, a custom and classic bike show, dozens of vendors, stunters, observed trials experts, mini-gp road racers, a great kid’s zone and a breathtaking Team Extreme Motosphere exhibition all kept the audience busy. That, combined with some great music throughout the day by bands like Downplay, Contagious Til 4 and ShallowTail, as well as the Ohio State Alumni Band, the current OSU cheerleaders and even Brutus Buckeye made for a good time.

So, who won the outstanding custom bobber built by the talented designers at Beckner’s House of Rides? Andrew Gillespie of Newark, Ohio had been away from motorcycling for awhile while raising a family by serving as a Clinical Director/Social Worker in Cambridge, Ohio. But in recent months he’s bought another motorcycle, and he figured he’d attend Roll on Columbus to ”help raise money for the kids, and get my motorcycle engine revving,” he said.

Gillespie bought the winning ticket at the event, and couldn’t believe it when Erica Miller, of our “Poster Family” for ROC, drew it. “I was speechless!” Gillespie said , and despite being told about it by ROC officials that night, he waited until the next day to call back, just to make sure somebody wasn’t playing a joke on him. As for plans for the bike, it’s pretty simple. “I plan to ride the wheels off it,” he said with a big smile.

At the end of the day, the Ohio Motorcyclists for Children (OMC), who organized the event, were pleased to present a check to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for $8,300 . “This has been a great experience for all of us who worked to put this event on for the very first time this year, and I couldn’t be more proud of our many sponsors and volunteers who made it happen,” said Ed Youngblood, OMC Director. “We hope everybody will keep an eye on this website later this year when we announce plans for future events, and rest assured, we hope to do even bigger and better activities in the coming years,” he added.

The Ohio Motorcyclists for Children would like to thank the following companies and individuals for their key support of this year’s event:

● Main Sponsors
Neverman Construction
Ricart Automotive
Beckner’s House of Rides

● Additional Sponsors
Iron Pony
KK Motorcycle Supply
Lane, Alton, Horst
Cycle Search
Ohio Riders
Sullivan Company
Fast Signs
Spitfire Customs
Lou’s Body Shop
Pusater and Nichols & Co. CPA
Quaker Steak and Lube,with special thanks to our emcee, Rich, “The Lube Guy”
J&P Cycles

● Media Sponsors
92.3 WCOL FM: “Continuous country favorites”
95.5 WHOK: “Country legends”
96.3 WLVQ: “QFM 96 Rock ‘n Roll”
97.9 WNCI: “Today’s best top 40 hits”
107.1 WAZU: “Big Wazoo Rock Radio”
The Other Paper

● Special Thanks
PromoWest
Value Added Marketing
Avitae Water
Dream Seats
ABATE of Ohio
Arena District
Nationwide Realty Investors
Boston’s
Kohl’s
Lake Erie Chapter, Antique Motorcycle Club of America
Safe Communities
The Miller Family
Nathan Docken and his newly painted road racer (thanks to the kids who painted it at the event)
Domenik Hixon from the New York Giants

● Dealer Ride Locations
Ohio Motorcycles
Motohio
Ask Powersports, Grove City
A.D. Farrow Co. Shop at NorthStar
Iron Pony

And finally, thanks to all of our volunteers for a job well done.

See you next year!