What an incredible event!!! I’ve got to say, I did not expect that this event would more than DOUBLE in size in it’s second year. Final numbers aren’t in, but we did have 57 registered drivers this year!! Holy cow. We are definitely in the black for this event from a financial standpoint thanks mostly to our incredible sponsors inspiring everyone to buy tons of raffle tickets!! Just an incredible showing of support.
As with events of years past, we will be donating excess proceeds of the raffle to charity. Once the BOD has had a chance to review the final numbers and decide on the charity, we will post up announcing how much we’re donating, and where we’re donating that money.
As everyone should know, Carolina Relic Run is the brainchild of our own David Miller. This year he single-handedly ran this event, delegating certain tasks to many volunteers in the club. While we will be making improvements in some areas for next year to better position CRR as our “keystone” annual event, none of this would have happened were it not for David, so let’s make sure to recognize him appropriately. Thank you David!!!
Our success is largely due to the incredible support of our sponsors!! Please consider these vendors next time you need to buy something for your truck, or need service done!
· Gift certificates and merchandise from Land Cruiser Heaven – http://landcruiserheaven.com/ – valued at $1,500
· A pair of Corbeau Moab seats – Courtesy of Carolina Off-road Outfitters – https://carolinaoffroadoutfitters.com/ – MSRP $478
· Gift certificates from Carolina Off-road Outfitters having a combined – https://carolinaoffroadoutfitters.com/ – valued of $500
· Terrain Tamer Knuckle Kits – Courtesy of Terrain Tamer and Cruiser Brothers – https://www.cruiserbrothers.com/ – MSRP $99 and we have 3 of them!
· TEQ metal fuel can – Courtesy of Eric Forrest – valued at $355.30
· Full Yellow Zinc JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) Kit for FJ40, organizer and Stainless Steel JIS front door hinge kit – Courtesy of Overland Metric – https://www.overlandmetric.com/ – Combined MSRP of $255
· OEM FJ40 radiator courtesy of Land Cruiser Parts and Consulting, LLC – http://www.landcruiserpartsandconsulting.com/ – MSRP of $392
· Miscellaneous items from Cool Cruisers of Texas – http://www.coolcruisers.com/ – valued at $150-$250
· Truck Awning from Iguana Tents – https://www.facebook.com/iguanatents – valued at $280
· $150 certificate for a Inti Roof Rack for a 40-60 or 80 from Payara Offroad – https://www.facebook.com/payaraoffroad/
As with all events, the BOD does a ton of work behind the scenes as well. I’d like to thank the following people specifically. Although this is not an exhaustive list, this is a good start:
- Stacy Rymer – Stacy helped organize sponsors, nail down details around food and other needed supplies, then helped coordinate the food line for Saturday night (among other things)
- Allen Dickenson – Allen, aside from his normal financial duties (paying vendors, reimbursing expenditures, keeping track of finances) brought the first aid kits and fire extinguishers, then also helped conduct inspections
- Eric Johnston – Eric also helped run inspections, spent a bunch of time talking with the campsite host and is the new caretaker of the club generator, extension cords, and lights!!
- Eric Forrest – Eric helped run inspections, and helped run registration
- John Vargosko – John was the CRR 2017 Master of Ceremonies, running the Raffle!
- Jonathan Jones – Jonathan loves graphic design and graciously offered to design the t-shirt and banner for CRR 2017, much the same as prior events. Jonathan also worked with our t-shirt and banner printer, Raleigh Screen Printing, to have the shirts made up just in time for the event. They look awesome Jon and I love wearing mine!!
- Alex Cortani – Alex worked his butt off for this event. For those who don’t know, Alex is a professional graphic designer, so naturally he’s excellent at it. Alex designed the sticker that’s on everyone’s truck now (in 4 different colors mind you) but also designed and published all of our social media posts via Instagram and Facebook. I believe this is a huge part of the reason why we got such excellent participation! Instead of accepting money, Alex elected to become a sponsor of the event. I can’t thank you enough!
- Joe, Eric, Marie, Jay, and Rob – Huge thank you guys for running the grills. That’s a hot and sweaty job but I heard the end result was delicious
Running the registration line can be tedious, but it’s essential, so thank you for that as well!! Jay, to you specifically, thanks for taking pictures of our raffle winners!
To wrap up this post, we will be sending a survey to attendees of CRR via email. Please keep an eye out for it and give us another minute or two of your time so that we can improve on the event moving forward. Many exciting changes to come!!! Thank you to all of our sponsors, especially those who were able to attend the event and thank you to all of the participants. I cannot wait for next year!!
