COAL TOWNSHIP - Employees of State Correctional Institution-Coal Township will remember a colleague and friend through this year's Big House Benefit Run.
The 12th annual event, organized by C.O.A.L. (Corrections Officers Assistance League), is scheduled for Saturday, May 12, rain or shine. It primarily involves motorcycles, but is open to any kind of vehicle.
This year, a portion of the money raised will be given to the mother of Sgt. Matt Persing, a corrections officer at the prison who was killed Jan. 12 when his pickup truck crashed along Route 61 near Paxinos. Persing, who was 41 at the time of his death, worked at the prison for 13 years. He was remembered by co-workers as a "great guy" who was fair with staff and inmates.
"He was well respected by both groups, which, in the lockup business, is some accomplishment," a friend said at the time.
A U.S. Army veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm, Persing was a 1988 graduate of Shamokin Area High School. He loved to fish and hunt.
Ride details
Riders leave SCI-Coal Township at 10 a.m. to embark on an 80-mile tour of central Pennsylvania. A poker run sign-up, 50/50 and raffle tickets will be available at the registration table, which opens at 8:45 a.m. the day of the ride.
The registration fee of $20, payable in advance, guarantees an event T-shirt. On-site registration is $22, with no guarantee of a shirt. A pork barbecue lunch will be held at the end of the run, along with raffles and 50/50 drawings. Donations for the raffles come from local businesses which give items such as gift certificates, cash, tools, baskets or beauty items and other services.
To register or for information, or to make a donation, contact the group by e-mail at BHBRevent@hotmail.com.
The event started in early 2000 when two employees at SCI-Coal Township were stricken with illness. Due to their lengthy recoveries, they depleted all their earned leave time. A few employees got together and formed C.O.A.L. In less than three months, a motorcycle ride, as well as donations, food, a poker run and other fundraising efforts had been organized.
Since then, C.O.A.L. has helped more than 25 staff members at SCI-Coal Township. The event, which has the blessing of the prison superintendent, is held the Saturday following Corrections Employee Week.
Signs will be posted along Route 61 in the greater Shamokin area the day of the event to direct participants to the prison.
(A previous story incorrectly listed the date of the Big House run as this Saturday. It is May 12.)