The Bulldog Motorsports Club held its annual spring car show on Saturday, April 13, and managed to raise over $500 for a local non-profit organization.
The car show allowed students and community members a chance to show off their cars and trucks. Entries for each vehicle were $10, and BMC apparel was also available for purchase. All proceeds from the show were donated to Angels of Action, a Big Rapids non-profit organization dedicated to providing children and their families access to essential needs and community resources.
This is the second fundraiser held by the BMC since 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions and electoral board discrepancies. The car show was put on hold, but after a successful reinstatement in 2023, they restored the tradition to make it bigger than before.
This year’s show included live music from local band the Lazy Suzan, two different food truck options and a large variety of vehicles displayed for attendees to observe and vote for the winners. There were over 50 vehicles entered in this show with various off-roaders, sports cars, muscle cars and budget builds.
Automotive management senior Brian Myers won the “Best Classic” category for the second year in a row with his 1972 Dodge Challenger. He has slowly restored most of the car during his four years of ownership and has entered it in numerous other shows. He used this car to further his passion by learning about it and using the resources he had to fix it himself.
“Anyone can get into this. My advice is just get something and start working on it,” Myers said. “The best way to do that is to dive right into it. Take something apart, take lots of pictures and just keep track of what you are doing. It might be hard to find the right car. It took me a lot of years but there’s a car out there for everyone.”
Myers appreciated the car show’s return for his final year at school. Being able to share his passion with the community was something he found joy in and plans on he returning even after graduating.
“It was cool to be able to attend this event as a senior and win one last time here as a student. I hope to be back again supporting the club and the school,” Myers said. “It’s not only a good look for the clubs that are involved here at Ferris, it’s overall a good look for the town. A lot of people from all over the state attend this event. It’s a community event and it’s for more than just the car club as there are more non-students here than students themselves so it hardly feels like a school-hosted event. It’s for the community and the town.”
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The BMC President Joel Kerper’s goal for this event was to make it run as efficiently as possible. With last year’s show being the first, he admitted it was hard putting it together. With new members who had joined the club, they were able to create an event larger than in previous years.
“An event like this not only helps the club itself, it helps the community and we’re helping groups within the community,” Kerper said. “We’re able to support a local charity, there’s a pretty new band playing so they are able to reach out to a new crowd. We also have food trucks here and they’re able to make some money and put their name out there. It not only helps the club, but it helps everybody around it and allows everyone to benefit from it.”
As the president, Kerper does his best to make sure that everyone within the club has a role and feels like they belong. He encourages anyone looking for a community of their own to get involved with the BMC.
“Anybody that’s looking to meet new people and looking to make new friendships is more than welcome to join. We really try to make it an easy transition for those who might not know anybody here,” Kerper said. “The passion that people have for cars bring them together and kind of makes a nice tight-knit community. It’s not for any specific major or person. We’d like to have everybody and anybody that we can get.”
Biochemistry sophomore and BMC Vice President Corey Vanochten is one of the last members of the club that is not a part of the automotive program. He is one of the examples that no matter the major or background, anyone can join. As a car enthusiast, he understands that not all owners want to put too many miles on their ride, and this serves as a closer alternative to those near the area.
“It’s nice to see everybody come out here and show support,” Vanochten said. “People like to bring out their cars to show them off. We’re pretty close to Grand Rapids so a lot of people there and north of Grand Rapids don’t want to drive so far down south where car shows are more common. We like to host something here so there’s closer options for them and there’s also people within our community with nice cars that show up as well.”
Vanochten plans on taking over as the BMC president after Kerper graduates, and his goal is to continue the exposure the club receives and bring in as many students as he can. Throughout the week, the BMC hosts two car meets and board meetings which are open to everyone. Vanochten encourages everyone to get involved with their weekly events as it allows students to check out the club and get a feel for it without having to make prior commitments.
“I plan to be president of the club and I’m not in the automotive program,” Vanochten said. “I want to let people know even if you’re not in the auto program, you can still enjoy cars. You can still come to our weekly car meets, attend our board meetings and get involved with us through our social media. This club really is for everyone.”
The BMC meets every Monday at 7 p.m. in room 135 of FLITEf for their weekly board meeting. They also host weekly car meets with details regarding location and time posted on their Instagram. For further inquiries, visit the BMC Instagram @bulldog_motorsports_club.
C.E. C.F. / AM