Our Story

About the Toy Run

Since 1981, Smoky Mountain Toy Run participants have helped make some wonderful Christmas memories for needy children in our community.

It is Christmas Eve and the children are nestled in their beds anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. You have tried to explain that money is tight, only enough to buy groceries, but the children are undaunted, “Santa won’t forget us,” they keep saying. The stress keeps building and you wonder if there is ever going to be relief, and now you are about to disappoint your precious children on that most special day, Christmas. What else could go wrong?

For years this drama was played throughout Buncombe County. There just was not enough assistance to go around for those who needed help. They say that the Lord works in mysterious ways, but who would have thought that he would take a bunch of rough-looking bikers, dress them in black leather and use them as a tool to provide happiness at Christmas time?

With Christmas approaching it is also time for the annual Smoky Mountain Toy Run, and I can think of no better time to give you a little history of how this wonderful event has evolved through the years. It all began innocently enough during a period when those who rode a motorcycle were lumped into one group and branded an outlaw biker. On Halloween night, 1981, friends Dane Stevens, Jerry Slagle, Rick Watson and Phillip Trantham ended up at the home of Margie Stevens. There they found themselves lamenting the bad reputation that anyone who rode a motorcycle often endured and how they needed to change that perception. Margie Stevens had always been one to speak her mind and without hesitation she challenged this small group of Toy Run pioneers to make a difference. Margie’s blunt words were the catalyst for action and so they each agreed that it was time to make a difference. Jerry Slagle recalled an article in Chopper Magazine describing a California Toy Run that had stretched for fourteen miles, and immediately the group was intrigued. Time was short and much needed to be done. The first poster was a handwritten 8½ x 11 sheets of paper announcing the date, time and other necessary information.

On December 19, 1981, twelve motorcycles and about thirty people gathered at the Executive Club on U.S. Highway 70 in Swannanoa for the first Toy Run. In a brisk 20 degrees, this determined group of “elves” set out for Santa Pal Headquarters with gifts and money in hand. The success of that first year inspired the founders to recruit more helpers and grow the event. Guided by the rallying cry, “For Americans Who Need — From Americans Who Care,” the Toy Run continued to expand. Then known as the “Toys for Tots Motorcycle Run,” it was organized by volunteers who made posters and met informally each October to plan the route, destination, traffic control, food, prizes, and other details. Because law enforcement support was limited in the early years, bikers often risked blocking intersections themselves as the parade passed. Even so, the event came together year after year and continued to grow in all kinds of weather. In 1982, 85 motorcycles and 100 riders participated. In 1983, despite rain, 55 motorcycles and nearly 100 riders took part. Before long, Buncombe County began to see bikers differently. Crowds lined Highway 70 to watch the parade, newspapers shared positive stories, and television stations covered the event, showing bikers making a meaningful difference in the community. Most importantly, riders discovered the joy of setting aside their differences for one day and uniting around a shared purpose: bringing happiness to children in need throughout Buncombe County. The brand of motorcycle they rode or the group they belonged to did not matter—only that they cared enough to show up, participate, and give.

My first Toy Run was in 1985, and I still find it hard to describe the exhilaration I felt riding in the parade and knowing I was helping make Christmas brighter for a child. As a single parent, it also gave me a chance to show my children that helping others in need is always important. The years that followed are a blur, but whenever I had a motorcycle, I looked forward to this event and the emotions it stirred. I was proud then, as I am now, to be known as a biker.

In May of 1987 the annual Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade found new friends when Gene and Brenda Lummus opened Gene Lummus Harley-Davidson in Swannanoa. I don’t think it was coincidence that the 1987 Toy Run had its largest turn out to date, 300 motorcycles providing 2,000 toys for needy children.

Afterwards during the annual Toy Run dinner, Gene met with Margie Stevens and the rest of the founders and pledged his help and that of the dealership to be a catalyst for growing the Toy Run. His commitment was to help the Toy Run grow while keeping it in the hands of those that produced the original idea. Through his business connections he was able to obtain television and radio coverage that Toy Run had never seen before. His respect for those who pioneered the idea for the original Toy Run enabled him to forge alliances which increased sponsor participation and helped to maintain and grow participation in successive years. It did not take long for law enforcement agencies in our community to jump in and participate, intersections were now blocked by law enforcement, and police escorted the motorcycles from Black Mountain to Asheville.

For fifteen years, the Toy Run was led by a loosely organized group of volunteers united by one mission: “FOR THE KIDS.” In 1996, the Smoky Mountain Chapter of the Harley Owners Group committed to becoming a primary sponsor and began the challenging work of helping organize, plan, and implement the former Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade. Together, the Toy Run founders, Gene Lummus, and the Smoky Mountain HOG Chapter helped oversee some of the largest Toy Runs Buncombe County had ever seen. Their success in increasing participation reflected their hard work and their ability to build lasting friendships with sponsors and other motorcycle groups.

Over the years, the Toy Run adopted the name “Smoky Mountain Toy Run” after a copyright conflict with the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Today, it is incorporated and run by a volunteer Board of Directors made up of HOG Chapter members, founders, Harley-Davidson of Asheville, and other riders and supporters. Planning continues year-round and concludes each year with the event on the first Saturday in November.

When Gene Lummus passed away, Doug Rudd took the helm of the Harley-Davidson dealership, renaming it in 2012 to Harley-Davidson of Asheville. Then and now he has continued the tradition of promoting the event by encouraging the Harley Owners Group to continue their sponsorship of the event, and by becoming a long-term sponsor himself.

2025 brought a welcome addition to the Toy Run when the Board of Directors invited classic car owners to participate in the annual event by donating and riding in the parade to City-County Plaza. The presence of these classic vehicles brings back some welcome childhood Christmas memories for many of our participants.

Operating an event of this magnitude is never easy and requires hour after hour of volunteer work but it’s all worth the effort. Every year we witness an outpouring of kindness from fellow bikers who ride and donate so that every child in our community can enjoy a Merry Christmas. In 2012 the Toy Run committee revived a previous tradition of having all those who rode stand behind the toys on the stage at City County Plaza in downtown Asheville while a picture is taken. The community of bikers, classic car owners, sponsoring businesses, caring citizens are together making a difference in the lives of less fortunate children year after year.

Our thanks to each of you for your continued support of our mission, and we are very proud to continue the tradition and to be known as the “Granddaddy of All North Carolina Toy Runs!”

“FOR THE KIDS.”

Gary Aiken