DECATUR -- Suddenly the air was filled with the roar of small engines as bikes and trikes from the four-state area and beyond descended on the sleepy town of Decatur May 5 on a mission of mercy. That mission was to raise money for a worthy charity and to remember a little boy who lost his battle with a terminal illness.

The Decatur Fire Department hosted the 9th Annual Wyatt Hopkins Memorial Poker Run at Decatur City Hall in Decatur to raise funds for the Arkansas Children's Hospital located in Springdale and Little Rock.

Around 75 motorcycles and more than 100 riders and passengers from Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and points unknown converged on Decatur Fire Station Number One to register and pick up their paperwork and a breakfast item or two before departing on the 50 mile round trip through northwest Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma.

There were five checkpoints along the route where each rider had to stop and pick up a playing card. The rider with the best hand won $250, while the worst hand earned that rider a $150 prize.

By mid-afternoon, after all the riders had returned to the community room at Decatur City Hall, the money was tallied and the event earned more than $3,200 for the Arkansas Children's Hospital -- a fitting ending to a day to remember a youngster and raise money to stop the very disease that took his young life!