 | |
| Links: | |
|
|
 |
 |
|
The History of the Southern Knights of Central Kentucky Information on this site written and maintained by Donna Haggard, Secretary |
|
Welcome from the Southern Knights of Central Kentucky Car Club!
The vision of a family-oriented club that could make its mark on Kentucky was started in July, 1989 by Bob Metcalfe, Jim Mulcahy and Bill Sexton, along with their families, in Georgetown. The first meeting was held at the local Dairy Freeze in Georgetown. Once the word spread that there was a “new kid in town”, membership soon grew and it became necessary to move the meeting location to a bigger place – Frisch’s Restaurant. By the middle of 1991, membership had made it necessary to move again. This time it was the site of the original Golden Coral Steak House. By 1993, with a total of 123 families, the search was on for a larger site – the Cardome Center. Today, meetings are held at the local VFW on Mattox Street. For dates and location of meetings, please go to the Meetings page on this site. The club’s first cruise was held in July, 1990 at the local McDonalds with 58 vehicles in attendance. The cruise soon outgrew that location (with over 100 vehicles at each cruise) and another site was needed. The city of Georgetown offered Main Street as that site. Not to “overstay our welcome”, the cruises were then moved to Kohl’s. In 2009, cruises were alternated between Walmart and Golden Corral. Beginning in 2010, the cruises will be moving once again – to the Factory Stores of America Shopping Center. For more information on the 2016 cruises, please go to the Calendar page on this site. The club’s first official car show was held in June, 1990 at the Cardome Center with 204 registered participants. Awards in 30 classes, plus 10 specialties, were presented. This went over so well that it became an annual event for years. In 1995, Cardinal Hill Hospital contacted the Southern Knights to request our assistance with an annual show they conducted in conjunction with the Greasers Car Club. The show was held yearly at Ft. Boonesborough State Park. For whatever reasons, they felt they no longer could continue and stepped back. In 1996, something unfortunate happened…Cardinal Hill dropped the show just seven weeks before the show gates were to open. Since the show was all about helping kids, what could we do but step up to the plate and make sure the show went on. With throttles at full speed, the show did go on and gates were open on time. At that time, the Southern Knights had absolutely no backing for the show except hand-out items from Valvolene. The year 2010 will mark 15 years for the Southern Knights hosting the Boonesborough show. All the attention paid off because we have achieved the status of a national event. The Boonesborough Boogie Nationals (as it is being called now) is on the list of being one of the best and biggest in Kentucky. You must be asking yourself – what happened to the yearly show at the Cardome Center. After much soul-searching and discussion, the members could not commit themselves to two large shows a year and decided to put all our energy into one major show a year and making it a success. For that reason, the show at Cardome Center was laid to rest in history. For more information on the Boonesborough show, please go to the Boonesborough Boogie Nationals page on this site. From the beginning, the Southern Knights’ had a dream to do whatever possible (even in small ways) to helping kids and their families. The search was on for an organization that would best suit that dream. The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass fit like a glove and the connection was made. As of 2009, a total of $138,000.00 has been donated to the House. That wasn’t good enough – we wanted to support a group locally. That turned out to be Toys for Tots in Georgetown and the Scott County Amateur Radio Service (SCARS). Other recipients have included individual children and adults with life-threatening illnesses, flood and fire victims in Rockcastle County, the American Heart Association, the National Diabetes Foundation, Franklin County Coats for Kids, the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Relief Fund, the Ashley Lyons Memorial Garden Fund and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. From time to time, we hear of local families that are in immediate help and we do our best to help. The Southern Knights of Central Kentucky’s commitment to spreading hope and making a few dreams come true will continue to grow. We challenge YOU to be a part of that commitment by joining us.
|
|
Updated 4-28-16 |
