Thanks to the 275 vehicles and thousands or attendees who came out to this year’s Cruise-In Around the Lake!
Copeland Oaks hosted its annual Car Cruise-In around the lake on Sunday, July 28th. Registration started at 11am and cars were already filling in much before that! Each year this free event brings over a thousand spectators from near and far. Classic car drivers are asked to pay a $5 registration fee, with all proceeds going towards a local community pantry.
This year the cruise raised $1,700 to be donated to The Concern Inc. The Concern is a small Thrift Shop located in downtown Sebring serving many people throughout the community and surrounding communities.
Continue reading this article on the Copeland Oaks website to learn more about The Concern and this year’s award winners.
What some do not know is that The Concern also provides approximately 1,600 food orders in a year. At Christmas time, each year The Concern puts together around 150 food baskets complete with all of the staples of a Christmas dinner.
Paul Freer, the Security Director for Copeland Oaks, sits on the Board for The Concern said, “This donation is such a blessing for The Concern and our community. We were not expecting to receive the proceeds again this year but are very appreciative. This money will help a lot of families.”
The annual cruise had 251 registered cars and an estimated 275 cars total, more than last year’s show. Copeland Oaks provided free hot dogs, chips, ice cream sandwiches and water to all guests.
“The Car Cruise is our biggest event each year. There is so much that goes into planning events like this and a lot of people are involved. It takes a village but being able to give back to the community is worth all of the hard work,” said Marketing Director, Chelsea Venables.
Pictured: Oaks Foundation Director, Lisa Gentile, and Gene Steib, the winner of the 2019 Copeland’s Choice Award.
Eight awards were given for classic car:
Furthest Distance Traveled – G.L Courtney from North Olmstead with his 1982 Chevy Corvette
Oldest Vehicles – Wayne Lafferre with a 1923 Model-T and Jack Nutter with a 1923 T-Bucket
Most Unique Vehicle – Jim Gill with a 1931 Ford Fire Truck
Best of Show Pre-1960 – Dave Williams with a 1933 Ford Pick-Up
Best of Show Pre-1960 Runner-Up – Smiley Richards with a 1931 Chevy 5-Window
Best of Show Post-1960 – Jay Bukoffsky with a 1961 Ford F100
Best of Show Post-1960 Runner-Up – Marilyn Bermeyer with a 2015 Chevy Corvette
Copeland’s Choice Award – Gene Stieb with a 1968 Chevy El Camino