There's no better way to drum up enthusiasm and support for your dealership than by starting some fresh and new. That's what has happened with the Erv's Sales & Service Raffle Run & Rally in Wisconsin's Northwoods, which featured trail-side activities, prizes, Polaris demo rides, music and more.

The 2nd Annual event, held Sept. 20 in Tomahawk, Wis., more than doubled its participation from the debut, with 250 machines and more than 520 people registered. The highly successful event benefitted the local American Legion and VFW.

Riders could check in at Erv's the day before the event, or day of at event sponsor The Loop Hole. Trailer parking was available at The Loop Hole. Cost was $25 per machine and pre-registration was required prior to Sept. 17. A breakfast buffet at The Loop Hole was available for $12.99 from 8:00–11:00 a.m. Honor Guard raised the flag at 10:00 a.m., fired a volley and played the colors to kick off the ride. Then it was off to the Willow Flowage trail system, directly from check-in upon receiving a map and sticker.

The Willow has more than 100 miles of trails, with dealership staff members placed at hidden trail-side stops throughout the area. No exact locations were provided, making exploration part of the fun of the ride.

Riders then had to complete small hilarious and fun challenges to collect raffle tickets at each of the trail-side stops. They returned to The Loop Hole by 4:00 p.m. to participate in the Polaris demos (side-by-sides and ATVs). With the owner of The Loop Hole also owning an excavation company, he carved out a custom demo track on his property for the demo rides.

An all-you-can-eat buffet dinner at The Loop Hole for $14.99 awaited riders upon their return, as did a bounce house for kids. The raffle prizes were awfully impressive, with riders putting their tickets in a bucket that denoted their raffle of choice. There were separate kids raffles. Among the prizes:

• Two tickets to Packers vs. Vikings (SKOL!)
• Solo Stove Smokeless Bonfire Fire Pit 2.0
• Stihl MS 250 Chainsaw with Case
• Westinghouse Gas Artisan Pizza Oven
• Bluewave Winchest Dart Cabinet Set
• Bluewave Deluxe Pickleball Set
• Custom Set of UTV Floor Mats from Terick Solutions

Riders could also enter a Best Helmet competition, and the band started at 6:00 p.m.

"We had an awesome turnout. We had always wanted to get into organizing rides, but we wanted to make it more rider-friendly, family-friendly, more trail-friendly and make it more than 'follow me and ride back,'" Erv's GM Lance Mueller told me in a phone interview.

Once they hit the trails, the scavenger hunt to collect raffle prizes was a hit.

"Most riders hit all the stops, just over 100 miles or so," Mueller said. "We had 150 miles mapped out. We had some challenges at the trail-side stops — golf chipping shot, how many Saltines can you eat in 20 seconds, human slot machine. They had a blast."

Of course, Erv's teamed up with the Little Rice ATV Club for the event. The club groomed the trails for the ride and hosted one of the stops at their club building.

With Erv's being a key market, Polaris Inc. offered full demo support. The leads were aplenty, with nearly 100 demos completed.

"Sure, we wanted leads and sales to come from this type of event, but it was also about making it family-friendly, getting exposure for our area trails and to get people to support the VFW and American Legion," Mueller said.

Mueller heard from several folks who had never ridden the trail system prior to the ride. Erv's owners Josh and Mandy Witt also own sister stores, Power Pac Equipment (Marshfield) and Country Sports (Wisconsin Rapids), which helped with promoting the ride.

"We had a lot of customers from those two stores drive their machines up for the ride, and we had riders from surrounding states," Mueller said.

Here's a cool recap video on Erv's Facebook that will surely make you want to book plans for the Northwoods in Year 3!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17RjWyc1Yk/