On St. Patrick’s Day the Southwest Florida Corvette Club Benefit Car and Truck Show took place at Victory Layne Chevrolet. Admission was free and it was $25 to register a car. As Graham Reedy, the president of the Southwest Florida Corvette Club explained, they host this event twice a year.
Organizers expected to have 125-150 entries which included cars of all types, years and models. Entrants all got a goodie bag and a plaque and more than 100 trophies were expected to be handed out for Best of Show, Best Overall Show, Most Original and more. There was even a trophy for the car that showed the most St. Patrick’s Day spirit.
In addition to the fun of the event, it’s a chance to support two very worthy causes: the Harry Chapin Food Bank and Walk for the Fallen.
As Reedy said,
"Everything we do, we do for charity. We enjoy our Corvettes, but everything we do goes to charity."
Part of the money from the event would be going to Walk for the Fallen, a fund-raiser created by Sgt. David Drum, of the Lee County Sheriff's Office. Drum has plans to walk 390 miles in May to raise money for C.O.P.S. (Concerns of Police Survivors). This national non-profit helps survivors of officers who are killed in the line of duty. The Benefit Car and Truck Show looked forward to helping Drum and Walk for the Fallen in their efforts.
The Harry Chapin Food Bank would be a recipient of part of the money raised as well. As Mark Baldassarre, general sales manager at Victory Layne Chevrolet, said,
"When times got tough here a few years back, we started thinking about ways we could help families that were around. We've just continued on with that and the public seems to absolutely like that idea."