Gilbert, MN - The second annual Crawl 4 the Cure was held July 1-3, 2006 and was a fantastic success.  H.T.R. 4x4 and Twin City Off Road (TCOR) would like to thank all those involved for helping to surpass last years fundraising total.  This year’s event raised over $24,500, bringing the two year total to over $45,000.

H.T.R. 4x4 and TCOR held the first Crawl 4 the Cure in 2005 as a way for OHV enthusiasts to raise awareness for our sport and help out a great cause at the same time.  As always the event was held in Gilbert, MN at the Iron Range Off Highway Vehicle Recreation Area (IROHVRA).  All money raised, including 100% of participant donations, was donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The event was set up similar to last years Crawl 4 the Cure with participants being asked for a minimum of $250 in donations as an “entrance fee”.  This entrance fee entitled the participant to trail rides at the IROHVRA, the banquet dinner and raffle, as well as an impromptu “Thank You” barbeque dinner held by H.T.R. 4x4 and TCOR on Saturday night.  The event is open to anyone with a four wheel drive vehicle and caters to all level of vehicles and experience.

As with last year’s event, the real story for the weekend was the participants.  None of it would be possible without people taking time out to raise money and help the fight against Multiple Sclerosis.  Of all the money raised at the event, 40% goes to fight MS on a national level and 60% stays here with the Minnesota Chapter of the National MS Society.

The event officially began on Saturday with vehicle technical inspections, registrations and check-ins.  This year’s event was entirely based at the Sherwood Forest campground in Gilbert and was attended by participants from around the country.  Once checked-in participants could set up their camps and many took the opportunity to visit the IROHVRA to see what the weekend would have in store.  H.T.R. 4x4 and TCOR hosted an impromptu BBQ in the evening as a way of saying “Thank you” to all the participants, sponsors and people that came out to show their support.

The trail rides began on Sunday.  Participants lined up in the staging area of the IROHVRA and after a brief welcome and safety speech departed to their designated trails.   Members of H.T.R. 4x4 and TCOR led trail rides that were available for all levels of difficulty and no trail in the park went untouched.  This year’s trail rides seemed to go smoother than last year’s and everyone had a great time.  The opportunity to challenge driver and vehicle was embraced by all.

When the trail rides concluded it was time for the banquet dinner and the raffle.  Famous Dave’s catered the dinner and with everyone chowing down this year’s awards were handed out.  The “Hope Award” is handed out each year to the participant who raises the most money.  This year’s winners were Mike and Josie Knorr who raised $3060.  This meant they also held the most raffle tickets.  After winning a large number of door prizes they donated many items back for a silent auction that earned another $1000 for the fight against MS, again showing the outstanding character and generosity of the participants.  The next award was the “Sportsman Award” which goes to the person everyone is excited to wheel with, who always provides laughter and is always wearing a smile.  This year’s award was shared by Dave and Jane Lloyd with Frank and Sue Dentice.  They are members of the Firewalkers 4x4 club and made the trip up to attend the Crawl from Illinois.  It’s participants like them that make hosting an event like this a pleasure.  This year’s “Best Engineered Vehicle” went to Matt Coty for his completely home built Jeep CJ2A.  Matt spent countless hours in the garage fabricating everything from the frame up in order to get his vehicle ready for this year’s event.  The “Worst Broke” award went to Jerry Sweeney who blew his transmission and then drove 3 hours home to pull one from another Jeep and return to repair his.

The raffle was another big success this year.  Prizes ranged from t-shirts to a set of tires and were estimated in total value at $10,000.  This year’s grand prize was a set of Mickey Thompson tires of the winner’s choice.  A big sponsor this year was Burnsville Off Road who donated a winch to the raffle as well as helping out with other parts of the event.  After dinner guests signed up for Monday’s trail rides.

Monday brought a much smaller crowed to the IROHVRA.  The remaining participants got organized and left for a fun but much less eventful day on the trails.

H.T.R. 4x4 and TCOR would again like to thank all the participants, sponsors and people that made this year’s event a bigger success than last years.  Big thanks also go to the City of Gilbert for being such a supportive and gracious host.  We look forward to next year’s Crawl 4 the Cure when we hope to increase our fundraising total again.  It was a great pleasure to see members of the OHV community come together for a cause like Multiple Sclerosis and have so much fun in the process.