Legal setback fails to stop DFW toy run
The arrest of a charity official may have stalled plans for an annual toy run in Fort Worth and Dallas, but a new group and a highway full of volunteers has it rolling again.
The Texas Toy Run is Sunday in Tarrant and Dallas counties, thanks in part to Longhorn Harley-Davidson in Grand Prairie, which took charge of the campaign after the treasurer of Tarrant/Dallas County Charity Toy Run was arrested in October.
Toys and cash donations collected in Sunday’s ride will go to MHMR in Tarrant and Dallas counties.
More than 15,000 motorcyclists are expected to depart from Fort Worth and Dallas on Sunday and meet at Lone Star Parkway in Grand Prairie for a celebration that will include Santa.
“We weren’t worried about what had happened,” Eric Sandlee of Longhorn Harley-Davidson said Friday, referring to the arrest. “We just knew that this event had to keep going.”
Members of the toy run’s board noticed inconsistencies in finances for the group, which sponsored what was then called the Big Texas Toy Run. After an investigation, Todd Lynn McEvoy of Mesquite, the treasurer, was arrested Oct. 10, accused of making unauthorized personal purchases with charity funds from October 2012 through December 2013.
McEvoy has been charged with theft and is free on $150,000 bail.
After his arrest, some people believed the event, which began more than 20 years ago, had folded.
“Our biggest problem was to get the word out that the Toy Run was still going to happen,” Sandlee said.
Longhorn Harley-Davidson now handles the money and other activities of the Toy Run, which has long been a big supporter of MHMR. Since 1985, the agency has received more than $360,000 in cash donations and many times a tractor trailer full of toys.
The money and toys provide entertainment and field trips for children and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
“By Monday, employees will start to distribute the toys,” Catherine Carlton of MHMR Tarrant said Friday. “That’s how quickly we will get them to kids and some adults.”
Tim Zavadil of Forney and about 20 members of the Too Much Fun Club will be part of the event on Sunday.
Zavadil has made toy runs a part of his life for the last 20 years.
“I couldn’t see not being a part of this,” Zavadil said. “The event is for kids and we couldn’t let them down.”
Domingo Ramirez Jr., 817-390-7763
Twitter: @mingoramirezjr
How to help
To ride, bring an unwrapped toy or a $10 donation to the event. Registration is from 8:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Sunday. Riders will depart at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
Riders in Tarrant County will meet at Gateway Park, 751 Beach St. in Fort Worth, and riders in Dallas will meet at Deep Ellum, 2499 Commerce St., in Dallas.
This story was originally published December 20, 2014 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Legal setback fails to stop DFW toy run."