Kevin Kerr
DUNCAN — Duncan AMBUCS hosted their Wine’n on the Chisholm Trail charity event Saturday afternoon to a good crowd despite other events going on around Duncan.
“It’s been pretty steady all day,” Johnson said. “For as many things were going on yesterday, it could’ve been better, but it was still good.”
The goal of the AMBUCS this year was to raise close to $3,000 or more to set up a demo site at Duncan Regional Hospital for the AmTrykes that they donate to people who need them. The demo site will allow people in the area to be referred to the hospital in Duncan for a chance to work with the AmTrykes.
They won’t know until Tuesday how much money they raised, but Johnson was optimistic that they did pretty well.
“We only had 60 seats to sell for the dinner and we actually sold sixty four,” Johnson said, “but people loved the dinner.”
The Wine’n event is one that Johnson says she is proud that they are a part of, and happy to do something that helps so many people.
“It’s a neat event,” Johnson said. “It’s something completely unique that no one else does, and we do it for a good cause.”
Originally, six wine vendors were scheduled to be at the event, but due to illnesses and prior engagements, only three made the trip to Duncan, however they were all grateful to be a part of this event.
Johnson said that all of the wineries did great throughout the day and all have signed up to come back for next year, “which speaks well for the event.”
Don Neal from Stable Ridge Vineyards said that it was good to come to Duncan for this event and introduce their product to people who haven’t heard of them yet.
“We have a lot of customers already in the Duncan area,” Neal said, “and we wanted to come down and not only see them, but introduce ourselves to new customers.”
Earl Knipe of Oak Hills Winery said he was happy to be invited again to the Wine’n event.
“We were invited for this fundraiser last year and again this year,” Knipe said. “This is for a good cause, to help disabled people.”
The event is not just a way for local wineries to introduce themselves and sell their product, but mainly a fundraiser for the AmTryke program that the AMBUCS support. AmTrykes are tricycles that are specially made for children and adults who have some kind of physical disability. They are designed to help rehabilitate these people and provide a fun way of doing it.
“It provides them with a little bit of normalcy as well,” AMBUCS member Gayle Kammerer said. “They can go ride their bikes with their sisters and brothers and play with them like anybody else.”
The trikes are made to accommodate to whatever specific disabilities the person may have and can cost anywhere from $300 for the smallest trikes, to almost $1,200 for some of the larger trikes meant for adults.
AMBUCS sold glasses for $10 to go to the different winery booths and sample all of their different types of wine. They were also selling tickets for $25 that provided the wine glass for tasting and also an Italian dinner that members of AMBUCS prepared themselves, and 100 percent of the profits made during the event will go toward the AmTrykes.
“It’s a lot of work,” Johnson said, “but when you see them on those trikes, it makes you happy to know that this is what makes it all worth it.”
