Riders needed for motorcycle benefit for Walk to End Alzheimer’s

DALTON, Ga. — After her father Jerry “Tiger” Tucker died from Lewy body dementia in 2016, Tyra Stills said she had to find a way to honor him.

Lewy body dementia is the second most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, Stills said. October is Lewy Body Dementia Awareness Month.

“My father was misdiagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer in 2014,” Stills said. “In December 2015 (my family) found out he had Lewy body dementia. We were fortunate enough to bring my father home and take care of him until he went to his final resting place.”

Stills, who lives in Rock Springs, started the Ride to Remember benefit in her father’s memory in 2016. Tucker was a retired Georgia State Patrol trooper and a motorcycle rider.

“After he passed I came back to work at Mountain Creek Harley-Davidson (in Dalton),” she said. “I felt there was something I needed to do to help people and bring awareness to the disease.”

This is year three for the ride, which is Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The entry fee is $15. Registration begins at 10 a.m. at Mountain Creek Harley-Davidson, 1001 Market St., No. 37, in Dalton.

Stills said the ride will go from Dalton to Rock Springs and usually takes about two hours. All proceeds will benefit the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Dalton. The walk was held last month at Burr Performing Arts Park in Dalton and more than $20,000, with a goal of $85,000, was raised, Amy Johnston, senior director of marketing and communications with the Alzheimer’s Association, Georgia Chapter, said.

“Teams, participants and the general public have until Dec. 14 to hit their goals,” Johnston said. “They can go to www.georgiawalk.org to learn more.”

The Ride to Remember is open to everyone. There will be live music, food, drinks, a silent auction and a raffle to win a quilt made of Harley-Davidson shirts. Raffle tickets are on sale at Mountain Creek Harley-Davidson for $5 or five for $20.

There will also be a memory tree for people to put a purple ribbon on in memory of deceased loved ones or to honor those dealing with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

“We want people to come together for a good cause,” Stills said. “We want people to raise money to help the community.”

Stills said in the last two years the Ride to Remember raised close to $8,000.

Johnston said the Alzheimer’s Association is “incredibly grateful” for Stills and those who participate in the annual ride.

“The money Tyra and her team raise helps fund local Alzheimer’s care and support services in Dalton, including support groups, one-on-one care consultations and education classes,” she said.

Johnston said Alzheimer’s disease is growing quickly throughout the country.

“By the year 2025, the number of people expected to have Alzheimer’s in Georgia will increase by almost 40 percent,” she said.

For more information on the ride or to participate, call Stills at Mountain Creek Harley-Davidson at (706) 370-7433.

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