The early morning silence was shattered by the deafening roar of Harleys arriving for the 2010 Hoffa-Aloise Poker Run in Reno, Nevada on Saturday June 26, 2010. Bike after bike rolled into Local 533’s parking lot proudly ridden by Teamster members from California and Nevada who support Western Region Vice President Rome Aloise and the entire Hoffa Slate.

The 120-mile run snaked its way from Reno to the Bucket of Blood Saloon in Virginia City, to the Carson City Harley-Davidson dealer and Red’s Old 395 Grill nearby, the Genoa Bar in Genoa, the Rookies Sports Bar & Grill in Incline Village and ended at the Grand Sierra Resort back in Reno for beer, food, prizes and a raffle. The route offered some stunning scenery (there’s still some snow on the ground), long climbs reaching an elevation of 8900 feet, twisting mountain roads and spectacular views of Lake Tahoe.

You can view all of the Pictures on Flickr

Later that evening, Rome’s campaign hosted a wildly successful “just for Teamsters” party at the Xtreme Sports Bar at the Grand Sierra Resort. There was food and drink, prizes for the poker run participants and a lively raffle. Rome (who had driven to Reno just for the night’s festivities and would drive back to San Leandro at its conclusion to attend an early morning meeting) spoke to several  hundred supporters, thanking them for their hard work saying, “I want you to know first, before I say anything else, that you being here humbles me.” Rome went on to remind the enthusiastic crowd that, “this is going to be a long, long campaign.”

Before awarding prizes for the poker run, Rome took time to thank his campaign workers for their hard work and to praise Local 533 Teamsters for their continued faith in the union despite having to work in Nevada’s right-to-work environment. “These are members,” Rome went on to say, “who want to be union, who believe in the union and who fight for the union.”

The party eventually ended when the sports bar management asked us to leave so they could open to the general public.

The 2010 Hoffa-Aloise Poker Run was, by all accounts, a big success. But while the goal was to raise funds for the campaign, the true value of the run and the night’s event came in the form of an intense solidarity formed among Teamsters who have no problem showing their support for the Hoffa-Aloise campaign . . . and having a pretty good time doing it.