Members of Vietnam Veterans of Indian River County invited fellow veterans and supporters to celebrate Father’s Day weekend in a big way, by hosting a trio of events – its annual Mary Snyder Golf Tournament, an inaugural Veterans’ Business Expo, and the 11th annual Father’s Day Car Show.
On Saturday, a sell-out crowd of 260 players participated in the golf tournament at the Sandridge Golf Club, before making their way to the nearby Indian River County Fairgrounds, the site of the Business Expo, for lunch and an awards ceremony. At the Expo, people had a chance to network and learn about opportunities at local businesses, and could purchase raffle chances to win donated prizes.
Festivities culminated on Sunday, Father’s Day, with the Father’s Day Car Show at the Vero Beach Elks Lodge.
“This was the biggest show we’ve ever had with more than 100 cars, said Craig Waskow, event organizer. “We’ve had such an overwhelming response.”
Waskow said they raised roughly $3,000 from the car show and $22,000 from the golf tournament.
Proceeds from this marathon of activities are allocated to support the VVIRC assistance and housing programs for Indian River County veterans. The group also aids all veterans “in their readjustment to life in the civilian community” by connecting them with outside resources and services.
Waskow noted that there had been an increase in need among the veteran population as a result of the pandemic, so much so that they needed to bring in additional veteran assistance officers to help out.
Despite the humidly steamy day, car enthusiasts showed up in droves on Father’s Day to peruse the fleet of classic cars, demonstrating a great deal of envy and admiration over the showcased vehicles, which included everything from a classy Rolls Royce to Mustang muscle cars.
As viewers ambled up and down the rows of cars, music befitting the cars’ various eras played in the background, offering up a kind of metal history museum, with automobiles dating from a 1929 Ford Model A Coupe and a Studebaker Street Rod to the 2010 Dodge Challenger, a relative babe in comparison.
The day-long exhibition also kept folks entertained with raffles and drawings, awards, refreshments and even a stogie bar.
Membership in VVIRC is open to all U.S. Armed Forces veterans who served this country honorably. Meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month at the VVIRC office at 696 8th Ct. For more information, visit vvirc.org.
Photos by Kaila Jones
