ACWHCC 11th annual Cruise-In a success despite weather
Mother Nature showed favor to the Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center by turning off the rain coming from threatening skies just before the school's 11th annual Cruise-In Saturday, May 3, and holding its return until just after the awards ceremony. As a result, 85 cars ranging from early 20th century classics to modern muscle cars turned out for the fundraiser for the SkillsUSA Club associated with the auto body technology program.“Considering the weather, for a day that started out cold and rainy, we had a real good turnout,” said Nick Houmard, auto body instructor. “Not only did we have a nice turnout, but we had some very, very nice cars.”
Trophy winners this year included Best Paint to Eric Bowen of Ashland with a 1998 Chevy S-10; Best Interior for Bob Hostler of Ashland with a 1964 Ford Van; and Best of Show to Denny Brown of Mansfield with a 1950 Ford. The Cruise-In raised over $600 for the auto body program.
Big Prairie resident Chuck Efaw said he brought his classic Mustang out to the Career Center despite the early threat of rain because the Cruise-In is the first car show of the season. “I came to see the friends I usually see at the show,” he explained.
Richard Boley of Shreve had a yellow and black 1956 Chevrolet Bellaire on display. He said he has attended the event nearly every time, even though it is usually cold, because of the venue.
“It's a nice place to park because they have blacktop,” Boley said. “A lot of places have us park on grass.”
Boley said he restored the Bellaire for sentimental reasons because he owned a 1956 Chevy while he was in high school and used it to court his wife. He also has a 1931 Chevy sport coupe, and his wife has a 1956 hot rod.
Junior and senior auto body students did all the planning and legwork to organize this year's Cruise-In including designing and distributing posters, making arrangements for food service and the DJ, and securing the trophies, dash plaques and items for “goodie bags” that went to the participants. Houmard said everything worked out well and that registration went “much smoother” than in the past because of several suggestions the students made and implemented, including changes in the registration forms.
“I actually got to look at the cars this year,” Houmard said. All but three students in the program came out for the event itself to help with the onsite setup and to keep the event running smoothly.
Devin Bowen, a junior from Ashland High School, was involved mostly with the registration, dash plaques and goody bags. “I liked working with my fellow classmates and seeing the different vehicles coming in,” he said. “A lot of people were willing to help us out and I was surprised with the number of donations.”
Bowen was disappointed that no one brought a motorcycle to show. His favorite car was a 1972 Chevy Chevelle.
Dustin House, a senior from West Holmes High School, liked a Jeep and a GTO that were close to the registration tent. He helped with setup, site maintenance and pumping tires.
Skyler Bowles, another Ashland High junior, also helped with the setup as well as tickets. He said the parking lot was full of “pretty cool” cars and that he liked the ones with customized paint jobs the best.
“I did a custom paint job on a practice fender for a project,” Bowles said. “I think it was pretty cool looking.” Custom painting is one career option he is considering when he graduates.
The only negative from this year's Cruise-In other than the threat of rain came from participants who felt there weren't enough trophies. In past years, several dozen awards were given in a variety of classifications and model year groupings.
“We tried to keep it simple and get it back to a cruise-in rather than a car show,” Houmard explained. He said officials will review the comments before planning next year's event.