Garrettsville – On Saturday afternoon the Garrettsville Area Chamber of Commerce closed out their Car Cruise season with the final cruise held at the Garfield Plaza.
Cars began arriving Saturday morning and by the height of the show, over 300 vehicles filled spaces from Dairy Queen over to the Charles Auto Family lot.
On hand was the family of Roger Angel, who is credited with introducing Chamber Cruise Nights to the community. In addition, Roger’s favorite car – the 1957 Corvette – held a place of honor by the Dairy Queen that he and his wife Connie owned.
Mayor Rick Patrick shared that the 2022 cruise season was one of the best Garrettsville has had, noting record attendance, no rain dates needed, as well as record breaking 50-50 raffles which help support the chamber’s special events fund. Saturday’s 50-50 winner, Mike Tinlin, graciously donated his 50-50 winnings of over $800 back to the chamber which will provide a great start for the 2023 cruise season.
In addition to the car cruise, attendees had the opportunity to “burn rubber” at the Charles Auto Family burn-out box which was set-up between Ace Hardware and the dealership. Owner Bruce Abraham and the Charles Auto Family will be celebrating their 65th year in business this October.
Not only were there great cars to be seen, the crew from NAPA/ Gee-ville Auto Parts served over 340 pulled pork dinners, raffled a tool-box, and sold t-shirts throughout the day — all proceeds benefitting the NAPA Intrepid Fallen Heros Fund. Owner Dan Peterson said that approximately $5,000 was raised Saturday for the Fallen Heros Fund. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund helps military personnel suffering the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress (PTS) by building a series of facilities, called Intrepid Spirit Centers, satellites to the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, on military bases across the nation where injured service members can be diagnosed and treated. If you would like to show your support of this great cause, you can make a direct donation and learn more atwww.fallenheroesfund.org.
While the car cruise season for the Garrettsville Chamber may be over, the chamber is planning several events to round out 2022 — new this year will be a Fall Festival and Chili Cook-off on October 8th on the Buckeye Block. Watch for more details!!
