Fifty-four vintage and classic cars were shown off
ATASCADERO — On Father’s Day, Sunday, June 18, vintage and classic vehicle lovers headed out to the Atascadero Elks Lodge parking lot for its second annual Veteran’s Car Show. The event brought in hundreds of North County residents, and tons of fun was had by all.
“It actually went really good,” said Elks member Ronnie Maxwell, who helps put the car show together. “As you know, this was the second one. We decided to start one last year because we try to do a few things during the year for vets. With the Elks, we really try to give back to the veterans.”
The Elks Lodge spoiled our local veterans with a free breakfast cooked and served by the lodge’s members for any vets who wanted to partake in the yummy breakfast burritos they had on offer.
“We had a lot of people that showed, and everyone had a wonderful time,” Maxwell stated.
Photos by Rick Evans
Fifty-four beautiful cars and trucks filled the parking lot, and once the car show kicked off, everyone showing a vehicle was given a ticket to cast their vote for first, second, and third place. When the votes were tallied, they announced the winners.
“All the participants did the voting,” Maxwell said. “They picked out their first, second, and third place on what they thought were the best cars.”
Jim and Alex Johnson won first place with their 1970 Dodge Charger. David Kennedy took second with his 1965 Pontiac GTO. And third went to Pat’s 1956 Chevy Nomad.
This year, the car show added raffle prizes into the mix, including a gift package from Wilwood Brakes, $100 gift cards from ARP, and a smog certificate donated by Ferrell’s Auto Repair, just to name a few prizes.
“Next year, we’ll just build on it. We’ll do a couple different things,” Maxwell said. “Every year it seems like you get some more kinks out of it. I used to be the president of a car club, where we do Cruisin’ Paso and the car show there too. That’s why they asked me to start it [the Elk’s Car Show] last year.”
All money raised at the Elks Veteran’s Car Show will go back into helping the Elks Lodge pay to put the show on and feed the veterans who attended. Though numbers have not been calculated, any extra will go to their next event in support of the community’s veterans.
“It was perfect. I mean, couldn’t have had a better day. We had a lot of really nice cars come in,” Maxwell said. “Like I say, everyone was just happy to be here and happy to be part of it.”
The third annual Elks Veteran’s Car Show will return on Father’s Day 2024.
Feature Image: (From left) Pat took third place, Jim and Alex Johnson won first, and David Kennedy took second place at the Elks Veteran’s Car Show on Father’s Day, June 18. Photo by Rick Evans.
