By David Harry

Staff Writer 

Social worker Kelly McLean was drawn to the Sanford Veterans Center because her father is a Korean War veteran.

Victoria Logan of the American Legion T. W. Cole Post 19 said “every male in my family has served,” including her father in Vietnam and cousins who have been stationed in Iraq.

So Logan has decided to help McLean and the rest of the staff at the center as they help veterans readjust to civilian life by organizing a “poker run” from Acton to Arundel to Sanford.

The 2009 Veteran’s Poker Run will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, at Big Daddy’s Barbecue on Route 109 in Acton. The ride will include stops at sites where participants will be given cards before reaching Bentley’s Saloon on Route 1 in Arundel.

Preregistration for the ride by Saturday, Aug. 1, guarantees participants will get a T-shirt, Logan said.

Logan said the riders will leave Bentley’s and return to the American Legion Post in Sanford for lunch and the awarding of prizes. The two best poker hands and worst poker hand all win prizes.

While Logan said there is no set fundraising goal to help the center, which is operated by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, she welcomes riders in any vehicle to help the center assist its clients.

At the center, located at 656 Main St. in Springvale, near where Miller Ford was located, McLean said veterans from as far away as Fryeburg receive help getting available benefits and group or individual counseling.

“It can be people looking to register for a gravesite at the Springvale cemetery. It is often people who are interested in benefits,” McLean said.

The center offers readjustment counseling for returning veterans as well.

“It is common for people to have problems getting readjusted,” McLean said.

Logan noted she has heard more of women returning from deployments who need some help.

Sometimes it is just re-establishing a routine at home, McLean said.

“It’s about renegotiating who does what,” she said about a situation where one spouse has taken on new responsibilities as they other was deployed.

It can also be a case of adjusting to a quieter lifestyle after a tense tour of duty.

“You get kind of adjusted to noise and heat, and you think ‘why can’t I sleep now?’” she said.

The remedy may be as simple as running a fan for some noise.

If deeper help is needed, McLean and three other counselors are ready with group and individual sessions.

Logan said the poker run will be escorted by police and is not limited to motorcycle riders.

“When you have that many bikes, it does not go too fast,” she said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 241