White River Motorsports Club will host May 18 Auto Show to support vocational programs

The Auto Show will be held on the Buckley Log Show grounds May 18, and the club's students are already working hard to pack the house.

Members of the White River High School Motorsports Club are putting together their first car show and fundraiser and, even though the event isn’t until May 18, students are already working hard to pack the house.

“(We’re going to put in) as many as it will hold,” student Robert Chess said. “If we have to line them up on 410, we’ll do that.”

Boastful hyperbole perhaps, but the club has a strong start by entering about 10 early bird vehicles from the students themselves and by gathering 11 sponsors, mostly local auto businesses networked by club president Monica Frazer.

“Each category like Best 4X4, Classic and Custom (car) is sponsored by a business,” said automotive instructor Greg Holbrook.  “Each category will win a trophy and we have 12 categories so far.”

In fact, she said, just about anything with an engine and wheels will be welcome at the Log Show grounds, including lawnmowers, heavy equipment and dump trucks.

The purpose of the auto show is to raise funds for White River High School’s SkillsUSA vocational programs. The campus is equipped with a large, fully-equipped garage, but the continuous appetite for the cars and parts students need to learn the mechanical trade is expensive.

Every student in the club is throwing their hat in to fulfill the labor needs of the show. One student will announce. Some students will park cars; those who don’t park will help with the voting.

“I think it will be good community outreach for everyone involved,” student Jake McPherson said. “And we’ve had a lot of community support for the show in return.”

The Motorsports Auto Show will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Entrants can submit their vehicles up to the day of the show and all entries may arrive starting at 8 a.m.; judging will be from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The entry fee for one vehicle is $10.

Entry forms can be obtained by contacting the White River auto department at 360-829-5579 or WRHSautoshop@hotmail.com.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article erroneously attributed Robert Chess’s quote to another student. A quote from a co-advisor to the Motorsports Club was replaced with a similar quote from auto shop instructor Greg Holbrook at the former’s request.