Eight years ago the Discover Church in Dublin, Ohio held their very first car and truck show. The show back then was called Hot Rods for Hatti. In 2015 it was renamed Cruisin' for a Cause. Each year the show raises money for a specific cause. Last year it was scholarships for children of the fallen. This year the cause was Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a genetic disorder characterized by progressive 
muscle degeneration and weakness. The disease mostly affects boys, but on rare occasion can also affect girls.
The show has a reputation for giving out unique custom hand-made trophies. I happen to have two of them from past shows and they are two of my most favorite trophies. This year was no exception. Ark Hot Rods once again provided some of the most unusual awards you'll find at any car show.
Going on simultaneously with the car and truck show was an arts and crafts show and model display contest from the members of the Buckeye Scale Auto Club.
Everyone got an opportunity to vote for their favorite model car or truck.
This year's Cruisin' for a Cause set an all time record with a 116 registered vehicles. The exciting news is some of the vehicles, such as the 1954 Chevy Bel Air of Steve and Brenda Andrix from Galena, Ohio, I had not seen prior to this show.
Another "unseen before the show" vehicle was this 1970 custom Chevy Chevelle SS belonging to Mark and Patty Emyart of Galloway, Ohio. The Chevelle has the LT4 engine found in the 1996 Corvette Grand Sport. Mark and Patty have owned the car for about a month.
Adding to the list is the 1957 Ford Fairlane owned by Ken Farmer of Logan, Ohio.
Another notable automobile was this 1946 Ford coupe of Bob First from Mansfield, Ohio. Not too often you see Recaro racing seats in a 40's coupe.
Here are some of the other great cars and trucks from the show.
THE AWARDS
Before I list the awards, let me take a minute to talk about the judging. Just like On The Rocks the week before, the organizers of Cruisin' for a Cause did a through and fair job judging all the vehicles. I saw at least 4 pairs of judges inspecting the cars. And they did all the judging in two hours! At lot of shows should take a lesson from the Cruisin' for a Cause organizers on how to properly judge a car show.
On a related topic, I really like breaking the awards down into classes. It gives everyone a chance to compete within their own car class. I wish more shows would use similar criteria for the judging.
With that out-of-the-way, let's get to the awards.
Cruisin' for a Cause presented 25 "Favorite", 9 class, and four "special" awards.
The class breakdown and winners were as follows:
- 49 and older original - Nick Bova 1934 Deluxe coupe
- 49 and older rod - Ron Harmon 1939 Chevy coupe
- 50s & 60s original - Graig Grunkemeyer 1967 Corvette
- 50s & 60s mod - Steve Andrix 1954 Chevy Bel Air
- 70s & 80s original - Linda Lumus 1989 Corvette Roadster
- 70s & 80s mod - Mark & Patty Emyart 1970 Chevy Chevelle
- 79 and older truck - Gary Christy 1952 GMC pickup
- 80 and newer truck - no entrant so there were two 90 and newer winners
- 90 and newer - Rick Frye 2017 Corvette; Tony Holland 2017 Corvette
The "Special" award winners
- Club participation - Rusty Nuts
- Modelers - vehicle 19
- Best of Show - Jeff Shankle with his 1951 Ford F1 pickup
- Kids Pick - The 1962 Chevy Pickup belonging to Kevin Martin
It's not very often you and your friends all get an award at a car show. You learn to cherish those moments.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This was my fourth Hot Rods for Hatti/Cruisin' for a Cause show. Each year the show gets better and better. Between the worthwhile causes the show represents, the hand-made custom trophies, the judging, and the quality vehicles it attracts, Cruisin' for a Cause has quickly become one of the shows I look forward to each year. Donnie Kinkead and everyone associated with the show should be congratulated for putting on a great event!