Ray Price Harley Davidson pays special tribute with Raleigh Christmas Parade float

WAKE COUNTY, NC (WTVD) -- Ray Price Harley Davidson is a staple of the Raleigh Christmas parade, and their float is paying a special tribute this year, using it to celebrate their connection with the community.

"We enjoyed being a part of the parade because it's Raleigh, and were part of the fabric here in downtown Raleigh," Kris Weiss, their marking director, said.

The "Toys-for-Tots" under the tree show just one of the many charities they support.

The sense of community is something Ray Price began at the family-owned business 35 years ago, and it's what they will pay tribute to this year.

"We have the motorcycle on there, and we probably won't have anyone sitting on the motorcycle, since Ray had passed, and so it's kind of a tribute to Ray," Weiss said.

"He was just a good old country boy from Johnson county that made good," Floyd Baker said, Mission pastor at Freedom Biker Church. "But he always remembered where he come from."

Supporting causes like the USO, the former Air Force member had a tradition of giving back, one that lives on through the Harley Owner's Group here.

While the mechanical innovator and "Father of the Funnybike" is well known for his drag racing, winning over 46 national events, it's his charity work that remains his legacy.

"Ray was very compassionate," Baker said. "He was a good steward of the gifts that he had. He utilize what the Lord blessed him with, and he used everything to as close to maximum efficiency as any man I've ever met."