Rides of March Car & Bike Show Supports Special Olympics, Fl

The Rides of March Car & Bike Show on March 16 at Santa Rosa Mall in Mary Esther gave car and motorcycle enthusiasts an opportunity to showcase their much-loved vehicles while simultaneously benefiting Special Olympics, FL’s and Hurlburt Chapter #398 of the Air & Space Forces Association’s (AFA) community outreach programs.

Hosted by 100.3 KROCK, AFA, ASOTC LLC, Emerald Coast Connected, Santa Rosa Mall, and Wentz Brothers’ Festival of Fears, the event raised $640 in donations for Special Olympics, Inc.

In addition to perusing the vehicles on display, attendees also enjoyed flamethrower displays, costumed stilt walkers, vendors offering drinks and other offerings, and rocking to live music by two bands—Donnie Morgan and Autumn Poultry.

Sponsors of the event included Valparaiso Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Mills Heating & Air, ASOTC LLC, Eglin Federal Credit Union, Florida Power and Light, Law Tigers.

The competition had 41 entries in varying categories. After judging, the announced winners  were:

First Place Cars

• Truck, SUV, Jeep Class: Jeff Pendleton with his 2021 Dodge 850 TRX
• American Class: Ruth Stokes with her 1955 GMC 100

Second Place Cars

• Truck, SUV, Jeep Class: Kevin Wilson with “The Samurai,” 2019 Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo
• Foreign, Japanese, Euro Class: Dave Antenberg with “Hot Wheels,” 2019 Honda Civic Type R
• Truck, SUV, Jeep Class: Alan Garrone—1981 Chevrolet CIO Custom Deluxe
• American Class: Vic Mette with his 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle blue SS convertible

First Place Motorcycles

• Motorcycle Class: Eric Matizza with “Scarlett,” 2019 Harley-Davidson Road Glide

Rik Wolfe of Omni Broadcasting expressed his gratitude, saying “We were surprised and delighted by the number of participants in the event as well as grateful to them and all the sponsors. All of us are pleased to help the charities involved as they continue their efforts to help the local community.”

(A more in-depth article can be found at Emerald Coast Connected. Photo courtesy of 100.3 KROCK B Team member Dawn Austin.)