Veterans benefit from car show and run

r The third annual car show hosted by the Mervyn Sharp Bennion Central Utah Veterans Home in Payson was held on Saturday, June 24 and was a wonderful day for all.

Car shows are always popular because of the great memories of a time past that these classic vehicles bring back to us. This event also made it possible for residents of the veteran’s home to take a ride of almost an hour in some of the classic and historic cars local owners brought out. More good memories for all who participated in the 2017 veterans car show.

New for this year’s event, a 5K “Run (or walk) for the Vets” started the day with about 50 entrants made up of local supporters and veterans. The course which was just over 3.1 miles began and ended at the Payson Veterans center and several water stations were provided along the ways. Participants received a special T-shirt and a commemorative “dog tag.” More than an hour after the start of this foot event people of all ages and physical condition were crossing the finish line. All of these folks need to be applauded for their commitment and contribution to the start of the day.

The car show vehicles started showing up about 9 a.m. and a total of 92 vehicles registered for the event. Of these, 40 participated in “the cruise for veterans” which took residents of the veteran’s home on an off-site ride through the local countryside. The great pleasure in this event was seeing the expressions of joy and delight on the faces of the veterans as they were getting in the cars for the ride. This part of the car show really made the day worthwhile for all who witnessed it. This part of the day was a wonderful act of serving our veterans on the part of the car owners who took a veteran for a classic ride.

After lunch plaques were awarded for different car categories as judged by the vendor participants of the event. Thirty local businesses bought vendor space to advertise and sell their products. Their support has to be appreciated as part of the success of this event.

In addition to creating a great time for all, this is a fundraising event for the veteran’s home Santa Zone gift program held in December for veterans and their families. Funds were raised at the free car show through the “Run for the Vets” and car registration fees (veterans did not have to pay registration fees however), and vendor booth space. The final accounting is not in as Serve Daily goes to press, but the organizers are pleased with how things went.

As a spectator, the car show brought back memories of a past when these old cars were young and so were we. Car shows are like that. This car show was a fascinating experience because of the involvement of the Payson Central Utah Veterans Home and the joy that it brought to the residents. We will be looking forward to the 2018 Veterans Car Show.