Up to 1,800 expected at Fred Perry Run for Kids

The run has grown over 17 years.

By JEANNE STARMACK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

AUSTINTOWN — Fred Perry was a heckuva guy.

So much of one that nearly 17 years after his death at 67 from cancer, between 1,500 and 1,800 motorcycle riders still honor his memory with the annual Fred Perry Run for Kids.

“Any time anybody needed help, he would never say ‘no’ to anyone,” said his daughter Nancy Martucci. “He had many friends.”

Perry, a lifelong Austintown resident, died in 1991. But his desire to help kids who are less fortunate than his own seven, healthy ones lives on in the poker run, which begins at 1 p.m. this Sunday at Mike’s Lounge, 5532 Mahoning Ave.

“Motorcycles were my dad’s life,” explained Martucci, of Cornersburg. He worked for Harley-Davidson.

She said that about a year before her father’s death, two friends got together and held a party they called Fred Perry Appreciation Day. They were Gary DeZee and Mike Mulhull, owner of Mike’s Lounge. From that day, the run was born. It always begins and ends at Mike’s, where there’s a dinner. This year, it’s chicken, corn on the cob, parsley potatoes and cole slaw.

The first run, in August 1990, six months before Perry’s death, included 250 motorcycles that drove past his house on Dehoff Drive while he watched from a glider in his yard.

Now, the run includes up to 1,800 riders, depending on the weather, Martucci said.

It has, over the years, raised around $100,000 for charities and causes. She said friends and family asked her father after the first run what he wanted to do with the money that was raised. He said then he wanted it donated to kids.

Hospice of the Valley in North Lima received $20,000, at the request of her mother, Dot, who died in 2003.

“They were good to my mom and dad,” said Martucci. The hospice used the money to build a playground for kids on the grounds, she said.

The run has also given money to the township police department, the Special Olympics, Ursuline Motherhouse Kids with Aids program, the Lions Club and Kiwanis Club.

Anyone with two wheels can be in the run, Martucci said. Riders can preregister on the Web site, www.fredperryrun.com. They can also participate by registering Sunday.

Participation costs $10 per person. The cost includes the meal, a Fred Perry pin and a ticket for a door prize. People who can’t ride but would still like to participate can buy a meal ticket for $5.

There will be a $1,000 raffle this year, and also a 50-50 raffle, Martucci said.

The run usually takes about three hours. Riders gather five playing cards at three stops, and whoever has the best hand in several categories wins trophies. Riders will receive route maps the day of the run. Martucci said that this year, the run will head north.