Car enthusiasts should mark their calendars for Saturday, Sept. 9 as the annual Yelm FFA Alumni car show is scheduled to return to Yelm High School.
The annual event will feature contests for 18 different categories, in addition to the best of show winner, best of show runner-up, FFA-voted best paint, FFA-voted best engine and the car club award.
The event will begin at 10 a.m., although participants can register at 9 a.m. as they arrive at the event. Registration itself costs $20 and includes a cup of coffee, doughnut and a raffle ticket entry for different drawings throughout the day.
“We have a bunch of different categories for awards this year. They include all the different types of cars, and we also have a couple of FFA picks like best paint, best engine,” said Kim Muir, secretary and treasurer of the Yelm High School FFA Alumni Association. “We also have the biggest car club showing. Any car club that comes, whoever has the cars participating, I think South Sound Mopar got it last year. But we do have a trophy for the most participants from a specific car club. Part of the entry gives them a raffle ticket to enter for a couple of door prizes, one of which is a car-cleaning package from Napa Auto Supplies here in town. The other two, Auto Zone and O’Reilly’s, are working on getting some things together for us for those drawings also.”
Aside from the car show, the event will include different food and coffee vendors, as well as activities for kids such as games and face painting. There will also be a silent auction on-site for those interested.
“We’ve gotten quite a few donations from within the community for the silent auction,” Muir said. “I don’t have a number of items at this point, but I’m guessing we’ll have 25 to 30 items in our silent auction.”
The auction will feature different theme baskets and items, and the organization has already received several “definite confirmed donations” from local businesses, including from Obee Credit Union, Salon Nouveau, Cattle Women’s Association, Farrelli’s, PetSmart, Prairie Park Holdings, Shiplap Coffee, White Horse Tavern, 507 Taproom and Yelm Gymnastics Center.
“The support we get is amazing,” Muir said. “We strive to provide family-friendly, community-based events. This fundraiser and event helps us give back to our kids in the community that are FFA members, and in turn, do a lot within the community. We see these kids come back as teachers. They still live here, and they stay involved with the FFA Alumni. These kids help the community.”
New to the Yelm High School FFA Alumni car show this year will be the “FFA 101 get-together,” which is set to begin at 3 p.m.
“It’s a gathering that FFA parents can come to, and the advisors will be there, too. FFA alumni can come as well,” Muir said. “It will serve as a meet and greet, and for attendants to get more information about the FFA program.
“We’ve always tried to be in attendance at the FFA events that happen, but this is a joint effort between the advisors, the officers and the alumni to try and get a friendly location so that people can come out,” she continued. “Maybe some parents can’t come out during the week, but maybe they can come out on Saturday. We’re excited about being able to provide some of that information, and for them to be able to see some of the faces behind the scenes.”
For more information about the annual Yelm High School FFA Alumni Association car show, visit the group’s Facebook page at “Yelm FFA Alumni Association.”
