Earl "Duke" Webster, a retired police officer from Louisville, won this 2010 Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide in Rogers Scholars "Hit the Road on a Harley" Sweepstakes.
A retired police officer from Louisville won a 2010 Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide motorcycle valued at $13,000 on Oct. 24 as the grand prize in the Rogers Scholars Motorcycle Rally and Raffle benefit for the youth leadership programs hosted by The Center for Rural Development in Somerset.
Earl “Duke” Webster, who purchased the winning ticket on the day of the rally and raffle, was in attendance at the event, which drew around 400 people and 250 motorcycles to the grounds of The Center for an afternoon of live music, a silent auction, and a guest appearance by the nationally known custom “Last Ride” bones bike.
All proceeds benefit The Center’s youth programs—Rogers Scholars, Rogers Explorers, and the Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute.
“I can’t remember the last time I won anything,” Webster said only moments after his winning ticket was pulled from among thousands live at the event by Last Ride designer Jerry Wayne Dixon and announced by Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center, and other management staff.
Webster also won a $500 gift card from Wildcat Harley Davidson in London, which provided the motorcycle.
The win was that much sweeter, Webster said, because he and his wife, Linda, almost didn’t make it to the event.
“We got lost three times,” he said. “We thought about turning around and heading back home, but we had come too far to turn back.”
“I was praying,” Linda Webster added. “I heard them say, ‘Earl,’ and I thought Earl Webster.”
Linda Webster was still clutching the free Bible she received that day from the Christian Motorcycle Association booth and was holding while praying when her husband’s name was announced as the winner.
Joe Wiese fires up the nationally recognized bones bike, Last Ride, for crowd's enjoyment.
Earl Webster, a member of the Blue Knights Motorcycle Club in Louisville, said he intends to ride the winning bike home as soon as he is able to pick up the motorcycle at Wildcat Harley Davidson, where it is undergoing a tune-up and a final wash and shine.
Approximately 250 motorcycles were on the grounds of The Center for Rogers Scholars Motorcycle Rally and Raffle.
The Rogers Scholars Motorcycle Rally and Raffle ended a four-month campaign to raise funds for The Center’s three summer youth programs through the sale of $10 raffle tickets for the Harley Davidson ultimately won by Webster.
“We’re very pleased with the event turnout, and definitely consider this fundraiser a success,” Lawson said. “The Center’s youth programs each year give hundreds of students from across our region access to leadership and scholarship opportunities to the tune of $7.2 million.
“These students are the future business leaders of our region,” Lawson added, “and we need the support of charitable contributions and fundraising efforts so we can continue to provide them these opportunities free of charge.”
Partners with The Center and sponsors in the Rogers Scholars Motorcycle Rally and Raffle included: Wildcat Harley Davidson, TOUR SEKY (Tour Southern and Eastern Kentucky), Clear Channel Lake Cumberland, Windstream Communications, SouthernBelle Dairy, Jackson Energy Cooperative, Copy Express, and Software Information Systems. Additional support was provided by WLEX-TV, Gray Television, the City of Somerset, and Pro Video/Audio Productions.
