Richmond County Hospice raises funds with record-breaking car show

ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County Hospice hosted its annual Cool Cars for a Cause on Saturday, drawing a record-breaking number of participants. The event serves as a fundraiser for the hospice, supporting various programs that provide essential services to the community.

“We use funds for this to support our programs, especially like our additional programs, our grief support group, our children’s grief camp and things like that are not reimbursed or any type of payer source. It helps too for patients that are underinsured as well—it kind of just goes into our operations,” said Julie Woody, director of public relations at Richmond County Hospice.

Woody explained how the event originated. “One of the gentlemen that works here noticed that when there was a traveling car show that made its way through our area, they thought that would be a neat thing to have that would bring in a different group of people,” she said.

During the car show, the hospice sold hot dogs while local vendors such as Tacos Mr. Pancho, Puckered Up Lemonade and Sunset Slush of Chesterfield County, South Carolina, also participated. Additional vendors included Enchanted Designs, Sassy Circles, Meme’s Crafts, Wonderfully Created, Carolina Hearts Home Care, T-Mobile of Rockingham and Tina Miller State Farm.

Community involvement remains vital to the hospice’s mission. “We’re all the time looking for volunteers to go out and visit with patients or to come help with events or to come help around the office in the gardens, so all you have to do is reach out to Lisa Lucky here at the office,” Woody said.

This year, the event set a new record with 80 cars entered. Woody shared that the hospice aims to raise $5,000 annually through the car show. “We have a lot of people that come and go through the cars and support the vendors. We usually have a good turnout,” she said.

Looking ahead, the hospice is preparing for its annual children’s grief camp, which will take place Friday. Additionally, it is organizing the Taste of the Sandhills Showcase/Dancing with the Stars event on Sept. 20.

Participants in the car show had the opportunity to vote for their top 25 cars. Judges awarded titles for best Ford, best GM, best Mopar, director’s choice and best in show.

Top 25 Cars (in no particular order):

• 1968 Chevy Camaro entered by George Frazier

• 1965 Chevy C-10 Pickup entered by Terry Jordan

• 1966 Ford Mustang entered by Loyd Grant Jr.

• 1970 Chevy Camaro entered by Jeff Rentz

• 1969 Chevy Camaro entered by Jetty Bass

• 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle entered by Tony Berry

• 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS entered by Glen Haris Jr.

• 1973 Plymouth 340 Duster entered by Wardell Dockery

• 1970 Chevy Chevelle entered by Tim Watkins

•1966 Ford Mustang entered by Lonee Lowery

• 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner entered by Barbara Richardson

• 1948 Ford F-1 entered by Brad Hewett

• 1969 Chevy Camaro entered by Christian Smith

• 1923 Ford T-Bucket entered by Cole Herndon

• 1967 Ford Mustang entered by George Bolger

• 1970 Ford Torino GT entered by Clement Bowman

• 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle SS entered by Marion Kersey

• 1965 Chevy C-10 entered by Brian Lewis

• 1967 Chevy Camaro entered by Larry Leak

• 1939 Plymouth Sedan entered by Ron Colston

• 1968 Chevrolet Camaro “Pro Street” entered by Eveie Coley

• 1969 Chevy Camaro Rally Sport entered by Marvin Blake

• 1949 Chevy 3100 Truck entered by Dennis Currie

• 1967 Chevy C-10 entered by Keith Rosebud

• 1941 Ford entered by Steve Quick

Awards as Selected by Judges:

• Best GM: 1965 Chevy C-10 Pickup entered by Terry Jordan

• Best Ford: 1970 Ford Torino GT entered by Clement Bowman

• Best Mopar: 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner entered by Barbara Richardson

• Director’s Choice: 1969 Chevy Camaro entered by Jerry Bass

• Best in Show: 1968 Chevrolet Camaro “Pro Street” entered by Eveie Coley