REVVING UP THE ENGINES FOR TOYS – Project 25 Car Show

The American Muscle Car Club of Panama City (AMCC) was formed by a group of friends in 2002, starting out with less than 10 members. We have grown from those 10 members to a roster of 24 families and most of those families consist of at least 2 active members. We are a diverse group of individuals and our cars are just as unique. Our club cars range from Model A’s to Corvettes and include some unusual ones you don’t see every day: A 1973 Ford Pinto, a “ladybug” VW Beetle, a 1977 AMC Gremlin and several AMC Javelins.

Not long after AMCC formed, in mid 2002, we realized we wanted to fi nd a local charity that we could help. There was some discussion but a decision was not made right away. Most of the clubs in the area have their charities so we wanted to fi nd one that would be ours, one that we thought we could make an impact helping. (You have to remember we were VERY small when we started, less than 10 members). A friend who was in another club at the time was a Deputy Sheriff. He mentioned that the BCSO Project 25 needed help with raising money and toys. Our club decided that this would be the one for us. We all love children and this seemed like a perfect fi t. There was more discussion as to exactly how we could help and the Project 25 Car Show was born. At the time, it was one of the only car shows held on a Sunday and one of just a few that asked their participants to bring an item to donate instead of charging a registration fee. And the Deputy Sheriff, who back then belonged to another club, is now a long time member of AMCC, our Vice President, Jeff Duggins. He is still a Deputy Sheriff with the BCSO.

Back then we contacted the BCSO Project 25 Coordinator, Becky Johns and began to see what we could do to help.  It was decided that we would host a car show and ask our participants to donate toys or cash that would be given directly to the BCSO for Project 25.  The “Project 25 Car Show & Shine” was born and our first show was held on Sunday, November 10, 2002 in the front parking lot at the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. We had 45 cars in attendance and gave out Top 10 awards.  In 2005 we moved from the 2nd Sunday in November to our permanent date of the 1st Sunday in November.  We continued to hold the car show at the BCSO for the next several years but after the 2006 show we realized we had outgrown the location.  In 2007 we moved to our current location at the Holiday Inn Select on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd across from the PC Mall. Our 2012 show was our biggest yet, 130 cars in attendance, 79 awards presented and over $7200 in cash and toys were raised and donated to Project 25.

We have cars that attend our show each year from all over the area, they come in from Georgia, Alabama and Florida to spend the day with us helping Project 25 get off to a great start. Our car show is the Kick Off for the Holiday Season for the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

We begin promoting for the following year’s show immediately after the current show. Right after the show, some of our members will begin purchasing toys that we will donate. We start buying toys the following week and continue to do so all year!  This ensures we are always off to a great start on the day of the show.

PROVIDED BY AMERICAN MUSCLE CAR CLUB OF PANAMA CITY