Band director Tim Reynolds looks over some of Grandma Pat Bauderer’s art work. (Photo C Kugler)Late October can be a risky time for a Car Show in northern Nevada with rapidly changing weather conditions and widely variable temperatures. The opportunity to give back to the community and help a worthy organization was a strong inducement for club member Gilbert Dayao, Gilson Autobody, to sponsor a charity show and shine to help the Spanish Springs High School Marching Band reach their goal of marching in the Main Street Parade at Disneyland during Spring Break 2010. Acting on short notice Gilbert put together a team of car people, band parents, school administrators and even Department of Public Safety staff (DPS/NHP) to organize, publicize and execute a quality car show in 7 weeks. Lead by Band Mom and DPS team member Lynn Brooks, a solid and focused group of 12 people (including our own Rich Wyett) started identifying key elements of a successful show, assigning duties, notifying the local car clubs and securing donations. Raffle and silent auction items were targeted not only from area “car” related sponsors but also from community businesses.
Mark Gordine is assisted by a band member during registration. (Photo C Kugler)As the day of the event approached we got a scare as the Truckee Meadows was drenched in an early fall rainstorm with tropical storm level winds and more than an inch of rain. Thankfully it passed and the outlook for the big day looked promising. Final preparations for the event began the day before and by late Friday night everything was ready and waiting for the crowds expected in the morning.
I had our car cleaned, ready and packed with several goodies for the show. When we arrived at 8 AM we were surprised that there were dozens of cars already in position. We quickly parked in an area that had several Porsches including a 997 GT3 Cup car brought by Brian Louder of Reno Rennsport. This car has been racing this year in the IMSA Speed Challenge and has been piloted by club member Don Pickering. While it wasn’t the most pristine Porsche at the show, it provided a great illustration of how these cars are used and abused in a race environment. There were 20 Porsches present which included a contingent of 356’s owned by members Mel Younker, Ken Hollman and Rich Chew. All were immaculate and gathered serious looks from the crowd. Overall there were 120 cars entered with the BMW and Mustang clubs showing the largest entries. There was a nice assortment of other cars from Corvettes, new Camaros and Mercedes to Hot August Nights Hot Rods, a fabulously restored Model T (our own Lane and Carolyn Allen’s other passion) and even a full dragster.
Curtis Fong explains his show & shine technique to Betty and Ken Hollman . (Photo by C Kugler)After walking both the lot and the street to check out all the entrants we went over to check out the raffle table filled with dozens of prizes. Then a quick check of the silent auction items inside the showroom revealed a big screen TV, $800 worth of tires, Pampered Chef gift baskets and more. The full sized slot machine donated by Sonny, Gilbert’s partner and brother-in-law, was the most interesting of the group. We went back outside for the beginning of the raffle. These prizes weren’t just plentiful but also valuable as Rich Wyett quickly found out as he won a 3 burner BBQ grill.(). Let’s just say he was grinning from ear to ear. DJ services were provided by Amplified Entertainment which helped keep the mood of the hundreds of attendees upbeat. We even saw a few club members dancing to the music.
Rich Wyett, Jeff Warner and Gilbert Dayao announce a silent auction winner. (Photo C Kugler)Hamburgers, chips, drinks and ice cream were on the menu and band parent Earl was a real work horse, cooking almost 500 hamburgers by himself over a 3 hour period. DPS, led by trooper Chuck Allen, brought several demonstration stations for the band members to try out which included a set of “drunk goggles” and the “seat belt” convincer. These were fun and educational for the kids and their parents.
As the day progressed, raffle prizes were drawn and silent auction prizes were sold. The camaraderie car people have crosses marquee boundaries as all of us recognized that the real reason we showed our carswas to support the band. The event was an amazing success and it certainly will be a building block for future Gilson charity events. Most importantly we all had a great time and raised over $10,000 to support the band. Thanks to all who participated.
