Dear Cruisin’ For A Cure Car Show Participants,

First of all let me say ALL of you are WINNERS in my book and I am sure St. Jude’s too. This show is about saving children and finding a cure. Thank you all for coming to Minden to the 5th annual Minden Cruisin’ for a Cure Car Show. This show could not take place without all of you. I couldn’t have done this show without all the support from my local sponsors and my car buddies from area clubs. I also couldn’t do this show without good friends that bend over backwards to help the week prior to the show. There is a lot of hard work that goes on the week before the show, day of the show and then the clean up after the show! I want to thank each and every one of these people. Without all of these folks this show could not and would not happen!” Because of all of you I will be able to send at least $10,000 again to St. Jude maybe even a little more, when the final bills are paid and all the money comes in. That gives us a total of $65,000 in 5 years! I think that is pretty good for a town the size of Minden, Louisiana.
If the weather had been good on Friday in a 300 mile radius we would have had at least 300 cars show up this year. With tornados all around us in the southern region on Friday, I started getting calls. Folks were waiting it out before they left to come to Minden. I had one man that waited until 3 A.M. Saturday morning to leave Houston, Texas to get here in time. He had planned on coming on Friday but was scared of running into hail and tornados. I also had numerous calls from Arkansas and Missouri about weather concerns and possible cancellations of plans on coming to the show.”
This show is a labor of love and a work in progress. When I started this show 5 years ago I had never put on a show before in my life. We learn something new every year. We especially learn what not to do again. The ballot voting this year did not run as smoothly as the past year due to the added number of classes. I forgot that I had added more classes and did not allow for enough time to count that many votes. I have decided next year on a different judging system that will be much faster. Each class will judge their own class next year. I know myself that a Mustang person knows the Mustangs better than they know the Model A’s, or MOPAR class etc. This will speed up the process a lot and also give everyone more of a chance to enjoy the day and all the cars instead of walking around filling out ballot sheets. This will also not take others away from the show for hours counting votes! I think this is the best remedy for time and fairness. I will also add a few more classes next year by possibly splitting the truck classes and antique car classes down more. I will do away with the Domestic Class all together. I think this will give more folks the chance to win and make more people happier at the end of the day. I definitely want ALL of you happy at the end of the day.
We will have bigger prizes, more car games and just more fun things for everyone. I wanted to do away with trophies all together but I know that for many that is an important part of the show. I personally don’t like to dust them! Ha! Ha!
Thank you all for being patient with the folks helping me and especially for being patient with me. I get a little keyed up on show day! After working on something for a year you want everything perfect and when you are dealing with that much stuff it never is. I really wanted the NASCAR simulator to work and that didn’t happen due to a major problem. I am sure next year they will be back and running with something even better.
Please check out the blog http://www.mindencruisinforacure.blogspot.com/ for pictures and press release of all the shows. A 2 disc set of video and pictures is available if you would like for $15. Just let me know and I will get you one in the mail ASAP. Just mail your check to Minden Cruisin’ for a Cure 508 East and West Street Minden, La. 71055.
Hope to see you all next year on the first Saturday in May!
Schelley Brown
318-423-0192 cell

5th Annual Cruisin’ For A Cure For St. Jude Car Show Draws Large Crowd!

The 5th annual car show that benefits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for the first time in its 5 year history had a NO RAIN day! Car show organizer and promoter Schelley Brown stated, “We had a huge turnout this year. The final numbers are not in yet, but I already know that I can send at least $10,000 again to St. Jude. This making our total in the last five years $65,000! We had over 200 cars ranging from a rare $200,000 Aston Martin to a 1919 Ford Speedster.”
Brown was very pleased with the crowd which was estimate to be around 3000 - 4000 at the fairgrounds site this year. Everything went fairly smooth considering the number of cars and folks coming in less than 3 hours between 7 A.M. and 10 A.M. on Saturday morning. Schelley commented, “I couldn’t have done this show with out all the support from my local sponsors and my car buddies from area clubs. I also couldn’t do this show without good friends that bend over backwards to help the week prior to the show. There is a lot of hard work that goes on the week before the show, day of the show and then the clean up crew after the show! I want to thank each and every one of these people. Without all of these folks this show could not and would not happen!”
Ms. Brown said, “If the weather had been good on Friday in a 300 mile radius we would have had at least 350-400 cars show up this year. With tornados all around us in the southern region on Friday, I started getting calls. Folks were waiting it out before they left to come to Minden. I had one man that waited until 3 A.M. Saturday morning to leave Houston, Texas to get here in time. He had planned on coming on Friday but was scared of running into hail and tornados. I also had numerous calls from Arkansas and Missouri about weather concerns and possible cancellations of plans on coming to the show.”
The added attraction of the Reunion Band and the birthday performance of Minden’s own “Elvis” aka Mike Spillers was a big crowd favorite. Mike’s arrival in a mile long black Cadillac was a real thrill for the crowd and for “Elvis”! Mike was then surprised with a birthday cake from his family. Local antique tractor enthusiast had a wonderful display of some early farm tractors for the crowd to admire which was a new attraction for the show. The food was great from Gumbo Daddy’s and the silent auction items were a big hit with the crowd. The only glitch in the day was the NASCAR simulator malfunction.
If you didn’t make it out to the fair grounds on Saturday you missed your opportunity to support St. Jude in a unique and fun way. You also missed some beautiful automobiles, antique tractors, some great silent auction items and wonderful entertainment. Dates are already set for next year so plan ahead. The show will be held again the first weekend in May of 2009. For more information on the show you can contact Schelley Brown at iluvoldcars@yahoo.com or 318-423-0192. You can also visit the blog site to see this years pictures and updates at http://www.mindencruisinforacure.blogspot.com/