LCS: PKMBA presents checks to VFD and EMS

A little less than a month after their most successful Hell on Water Poker Run, the Possum Kingdom Muscle Boat Association presented $10,000 checks to the Possum Kingdom Eastside Volunteer Fire Department and the Possum Kingdom Westside Emergency Medical Services Department Saturday.

PKMBA president Sharla Carver said the Hell on Water event on Saturday, July 27, had triple the turnout which it did the first year and double what it had last year.

“We went from 48 boats to over a 100 this year,” Carver said in an interview during the event. “But, our hands tripled.”

The Poker Run challenged boaters to make at least five of the eight stops to pick up dog tags and enjoy Possum Kingdom Lake before returning to Bonitaville restaurant by 7:30 p.m. At Bonitaville, they turned in their dog tags for poker hands with the person having the best hand winning a cash prize.

“Part of it is the lake is East and West, but it is one lake,” Carver said. “If we were going to choose one, we gotta make sure we take care of both sides. (…) The EMS and fire department are volunteer organizations and they need a little extra help in funding and they cover the whole lake, so they cover a lot of area and help a lot of people.”