Minden St. Jude Auction (www.mindenstjude.com)
St. Jude Cruisin’ For a Cure (www.mindencruisinforacure.com)
What: Cruisin’ for a Cure for Children Car Show & Sock-Hop
Where: Minden, La. Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Minden Inc. 412 Pine Street
Date: Saturday, May 1st, 2004
The Rain dampened the crowd but not their spirits! The first annual Minden Cruisin’ for a Cure was a huge success! The final totals aren’t in but it looks to be around the $10,000 mark! Rain or shine the Minden community and the Car Show folks showed what they were made of.
Show promoter Schelley Brown said, “At 5:00 A.M. the calls started coming with people asking “Are you still having the show?” Brown told them, “The show must go on rain or shine!”
“At 7:00 A.M. we had a driving rain but the cars started rolling in.” The Shelby Cars from Unique Performance were a sight to behold. The crowd was in awe, seeing the huge Carol Shelby rig pull up to the Coke Plant. These cars were a sight to see and the Mustang Clubs were out in force to view these works of steel. Next year we hope to have Unique Performance back with a special “Eleanor” motorcycle built by Orange County Choppers!
The ‘31 Ford Sedan that won 2nd in the X-Cup of the Great American Race made it all the way from Baton Rouge. The lady that owns this car drives it about 300 miles a week. She drove it in from Baton Rouge through rain and hail.
At 10:00 A.M. the cars were still coming in and so were the spectators. The gate sold out of St. Jude umbrellas several times during the day. The events that were scheduled for the day were delayed or changed up due to weather. The only thing that didn’t happen as planned was the Poker Run. This event would take the cars to 9 different spots in town. This was a disappointment for the people that were expecting to see the cars come through. Brown said she regretted not being able to get the people to participate in the run. Once the cars finally made it in they didn’t want to drive again in the rain and who could blame them.
The surprise of the day was to see Mike Spillers of Spillers Appliances aka “Elvis” along with the Bayou Majic Band. This Band did a fantastic job and the crowd loved it. Mike did such a believable job that many thought he was doing lip sync to Elvis CD’s but it was the real Mike singing. The Bayou Majic Band made the day an even greater event and kept the party going outside.
Lee Estabrook’s chili was a big treat with the rainy day. We actually ran out of the hamburgers and other food that were all donated by Wayne Avery and Jimmy Hall. The smell of good food drifted through the air and gave the day a real festival feel.
On the inside everyone had a great time looking over the silent auction items. If you missed this, you have to come next year. The Big room at the Coke Plant was piled high with some great items and the bidding got “Fast and Furious” (pun intended). At 4:00 we gave the “Gone in Sixty Seconds” call. When the Auction totals were counted we had raised over $ 3,500.
The sock-hop and the old Wurlitzer Juke Box were a big hit for young and old alike. We had a great Costume Contest with car hops on roller skates, 1920’s attire, lots and lots of poodle skirts and a miniature Elvis. The Hunter Museum was a huge hit with the crowd and even some Minden residents were amazed at the history that is preserved in the museum by the Hunter family. The guided tours by Mr. Carter Norman and Ben Hunter along with John Agan were a real treat for everyone that took a trip back down memory lane.
Brown said that, “Everyone had a great time in spite of the weather and raised a good bit of money for a great cause.” Brown is already gearing up with plans for next May, possibly the second weekend of the month next year. She said, “If we can raise $10,000 in the rain just think what we can do if the sun is shinning!”
Schelley Brown the show promoter said, “I would like to personally thank all the organizations, businesses, friends, car clubs, and magazine editors that came out. I would also like to thank all the people that helped with the advertising of this event, without them we wouldn’t have had the turnout that we had. I want to especially thank the Hunter family for being such a gracious host of such a huge event. I am left speechless and forever grateful for all the work and donations that went into making this first show a success in spite of all the obstacles we faced with the weather!”
Cruisin’ For A Cure
Dear Editor,
I would like to thank everyone that made the Minden Cruisin’ for a Cure for St Jude a success. I could not have done the show without all the wonderful people that donated their money, time, and resources to make this show possible and such a big success for a first year show.
I plan to make this an annual May event for Minden. With the crowd that we had in the pouring rain, I think this will be a huge event for us next year. The people that came in the rain to take up money, cook food, help with the auction, park the cars, help with the games, the judging, direct traffic, the entertainment, drive the shuttle, and to helping me to remember where and what I was suppose to do were amazing. This is what Minden is all about, people helping others in their time of need.
When I woke up on Saturday morning and the weather was so terrible I had my doubts. I knew a few hours after I got to the Coke Plant that the people would come out and support us, and boy did they come! The car clubs were wonderful and really did an unheard of thing by being out in that kind of weather with so many valuable vehicles. Without their support we wouldn’t have even had a show. I owe these friends a huge thank you for coming to Minden in a driving rain.
I hope one day we want have the show for the reason that we do now. Until that day comes, I know that the people in Minden and the surrounding area will be there. They will be helping and giving whatever they can. That is why I am proud to call Minden my home town!
Sincerely,
Schelley Brown
Minden Cruisin’ for a Cure show promoter
www.mindencruisinforacure.com
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