The almost yearlong COVID-19 pandemic may still be having an adverse affect on how the Apple Country Auto Club holds events, but that doesn’t mean the long-standing group of automobile enthusiasts isn’t functioning.
Despite not being able to hold monthly cruise-ins, meetings or fundraisers for most of 2020, the car club has been actively raising donations for end-of-year charitable donations that will go to a number of local nonprofits and organizations, noted Ronnie Prater, club president.
The club’s biggest annual fundraiser, the Apple Classic Auto Show, is usually held the first Saturday of the Georgia Apple Festival. It was also sidelined this year with cancellations of the festival and its sister events.
“The last cruise-in we had was last year. We (usually) have about five or six a year, and we raise a little money that way. We have not been able to do that this year, but we’re still here and we’re still going to give back to the community,” Prater said.
In past years, the club has donated to such entities as the Gilmer Community Food Pantry, childhood literacy nonprofit Kids Ferst, the Gilmer Senior Center, Gilmer Community Action, the local DFACS Christmas program and the Gilmer High School (GHS) Auto Tech Scholarship Fund. This year’s recipients are still being determined.
Prater noted that it looks like the club will be able to give back nearly as much as last year when donations totaled almost $5,000.
A recent contribution from a like-minded local vehicle enthusiast will help make this year’s donations possible.
Linda Ewing previously steered the local Everything on Wheels event. The annual showcase of different types of vehicles was held two years in a row, mainly to help the GHS auto tech program.
Ewing’s recent donation of $3,500 to the car club was a combination of money raised through past Everything on Wheels events and a personal contribution, she confirmed.
“This was a bad year for everyone and I knew they were still trying to do stuff for the kids. There hasn’t been anybody (from GHS) going on to an automotive (career) that needed a scholarship, so as long as the money goes to kids it’s fine,” Ewing said.
Donations are also coming in from club sponsors, which include numerous local businesses. Normally, funds would also be collected from club sponsors for the purpose of hosting cruise-ins and the big car show. This year, they’ll go toward the year-end charitable effort, a longtime tradition for the car club, Prater confirmed.
Club members are hoping to resume their monthly cruise-ins in the coming year, if public health conditions allow, Prater noted.
“We want to be safe. If we’re able to find a new place (we would like to start having them again),” he confirmed.
Instead of holding their monthly meetings at local restaurants or establishments, car club officers have recently been holding distanced “parking lot” meetings. The club is still accepting new members, Prater noted.
“We don’t charge any dues or fees. We do require our members to join the AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America),” he added.
Additional details on the car club’s membership requirements can be found online at AppleCountryAutoClub.org.