More than £50,000 was raise at the second annual Chris Jones Riders Fund dinner on Saturday at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.
The event once again was a massive success and with various donations, plus two very large cheques, which were presented to founder Pam Jones on the evening, the event raised a staggering £50,000 for the CJ Fund.
Just over 500 guests attended the evening and once again the food was fantastic, the entertainment by Trevor T kept everyone amused and the celebrity guests were scattered around the venue, all having a great time.
After providing various medical equipment since it began in 2006 the CJ Funds' next plan in to purchase a mobile medical unit, this will provide Chief Medical Officers Toby Branfoot and Cindy Horst with a permanent office at each round, it will transport all the medical equipment purchased so far including the X-ray machine and ice machine. It will also give the three BSB physios a base to work from at each round and a private place for Teams and Relatives to use if necessary.
A whole host of riders attended the Dinner on Saturday night and special thanks must go to them for giving up their time. Carl Fogarty, Troy Corser, Leon Haslam, Leon Camier, James Ellison, Eugene Laverty, James Whitham, Glen Richards, John McGuinness, Tim Reeves, Steve Brogan, Gary Mason, Dan Cooper, Dean Ellison, Tommy and Jimmy Hill, Simon Andrews, Chris Martin, Matt Hoyle, Tim Hastings, Robbie Brown, Victor Cox, Midge Smart, Tommy Bridewell, Kenny Gilbertson plus special star and surprise guests on the night James Toseland and Marco Melandri. Also Teams GSE, Honda UK and Centurion.
During the awards ceremony, which was presented by Roger Burnett, Leon Camier won the 'Determination' award, Jimmy Hill won the 'Up and Coming Racer' award, Glen Richards picked up 'Fans Favourite', John McGuinness - 'King of the Road', Tory Corser won 'Best International Racer', Simon Andrews and Tommy Hill both collected a special awards for their support and loyalty to the CJ Fund, crowd favourite James Toseland won '2008 Rider of the Year' and Carl Fogarty won the 'Commitment to Racing' award.
Three people were selected randomly at the final British Superbike round at Brands Hatch from the 18,000 raffle tickets that were bought over the season to win a brand new Honda 600. Steve Martindale from Honda UK drew Steve Samuel's name from the three winners and Steve has now become the proud owner of the Hannspree replica. Ciaran Donnelly and Carol Tatham both received BSB permanent passes for the 2009 season.
Tony Creaney, part of the Royal Marines team which has have fully supported the CJ Fund all season in aid of the sponsored row they undertook in September, rowing on machines, 2400 kms, nearly 1500 miles, in support of the CJ Fund and also the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children's Fund. On Saturday evening Tony presented Pam Jones with a cheque for £19,000 pounds after raising £38,000 over the season. He is very eager to try and bump this figure up to £40,000, please help him with this cause which stop at the end of December, if you wish to donate please visit - http://www.justgiving.com/tonycreaney.
Nino Pezzini and his wife Sue plus all the Racesafe Marshal's worked so hard for the Fund this season, collecting money at every event come rain or shine. Nino proudly presented a cheque to Pam for £9'000 on Saturday night.
The night ended perfectly with James Toseland playing on the keyboard and serenading Pam Jones on her Birthday and the night finished with a bit of music and lots of dancing and many happy faces!
The National Motorcycle Museum put on a fantastic 5-course meal for all the guests and they provided a brilliant venue for the Dinner and were more than helpful throughout the day and night making sure all the guests were happy.
Pam Jones, founder of the CJ Fund commented "I'm totally touched and moved by the support that we were shown on Saturday night and each time the CJ Fund holds an event it moves me more and more. The dinner was incredible and I think everyone who attended was suitable happy. Myself, Clive and Lucy would personally like to thank everyone involved helping and all those who attended on the night and made it possible. We are hoping to keep going from strength to strength and thoroughly appreciated all the support we receive."
Click here to watch videos from the night
