Optimists to operate Classics car show

The 19th annual Classics Against Cancer car show will once again be held in Cedarvale Park on Father's Day-- Sunday, June 18-- but there will be a slight difference. The organization of the longtime show has been taken over by the Optimists Club of Georgetown, who are teaming up with the original committee members to better run the show. Former Classics Against Cancer chair Dan Wagstaffe said the show was in dire need of new blood, with the current volunteers becoming overtaxed. "We needed new blood, to breathe some life into the show," said Wagstaffe, "And those volunteers weren't forthcoming. The workload was getting greater and greater for the same number of volunteers who were back every year to help. Many of them have been there from the beginning and are simply getting tired. "It was coming down to a `do or die' scenario," said Wagstaffe, "We even talked about terminating the show this year." Wagstaffe said Optimists Danny Edwards and Floyd Nelson contacted him, saying they were interested in helping. After a meeting, Nelson and Edwards took a proposal to take over the show back to their club membership to see if they would accept it. "We decided to take it on," said Nelson, "It's a good show and good for the town, and by running it through the Optimist Club, there are a number of advantages." Nelson said one of the biggest advantages is the liability insurance that the show must carry. When Classics operated as a separate committee, they had to carry separate liability insurance-- at a very costly price-- but with the show run by the Optimists, all liability is covered by a $20 million package through Optimists International. The Optimist Club also has charitable status which the Classics committee did not, so they have another advantage. "All proceeds will still go to Cancer Assistance Services of Halton Hills (CAShh)" said Optimist president Floyd Nelson, "And the show will be virtually identical to previous years, since many of the same people are still involved in the planning." "The Optimist Club has traditionally been a `Friend of Youth'," said Nelson, "This is just another step for us, to extend us to become a `Friend of Cancer Patients' too. And lots of youth get cancer, so we're looking after both." Nelson also said there is one more advantage that the Optimists have-- they have access to the other service groups in town, and hope to include them as part of the volunteer force. Nelson is also pleased the Optimists are involved simply from a community awareness point of view. "The Classics Against Cancer show is a high profile community event, and brings in people from all over Ontario," said Nelson, "Not only do we give the show some badly needed `new blood' that Dan (Wagstaffe) has been talking about, it also helps breathe more life into the club itself, just by being involved, and that's a good thing for both the show and the club." The show runs Sunday 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. and admission is $6 per person, $3 for children ages 6-16 and free for kids under 6 accompanied by an adult.