Montville Rally Revs Up

The second annual is cranking into high gear, says Glen Mathieu, whose inspiration, vision and energy brought the event into being in 2010.

The Community Rally began as a way to raise funds for the Montville High School Parent Advisory Group, and to help in the fight against diabetes.

Last year, Mathieu says, 74 bikes rode in the rally, and 100 people or more showed up for the rally event.

This year, he expects even more.

The Asian American Lions Club is helping sponsor the event this year, and all the money raised is going to help the fight against diabetes.

The rally is Sunday, June 5, at Camp Oakdale - and there’s plenty going on now.

Mathieu is selling space on rally T-shirts. A 1-inch by 3-inch ad on the T-shirts costs $100; if you buy more than one space, the cost on the second, third, fourth… drops to $85.

The T-shirts themselves are on sale now for $10. At the rally, Mathieu says, they will be at least $15.

And “The T-shirt is going crazy!” he says.

The barbecue ticket works the same way. Order now and your $10 includes your entrance fee.

You can register for the motorcycle poker run now, too. The pre-order price of $15 and $10 for a passenger includes rally entrance, the barbecue ticket, the Run & Rally 2011 hat and American Diabetes Association pin. At the door, the price is $20 for the rider and $15 for the passenger, and includes the rally entrance and barbecue ticket only.

On-the-day registration for the poker run is at Montville High School from 9-10:30 a.m. Riders meet back at the high school at 1 p.m. for the Parade of Thunder, which makes its grand entrance at Camp Oakdale, where food and live music follow.

Mathieu says that Jeanmarie Martin, his girlfriend, is the real backbone of the event. She's the event coordinator, Mathieu says. "She's the central hub of all communication."

In the midst of the marketing, of, of putting a Facebook page together, and spreading the word, Mathieu has not lost sight of what matters.

“I get so much joy actually doing this,” he says. “It’s exciting! I’ve met so many great people doing this, too.”

Cliek here to check out the rally's Facebook page, and here to go to the Asian American Lions Club page.