“The community support that we receive is great because that is how we function. It’s great to see the turnout here today,” said Shelter Supervisor Missy Houghton.
Federated Auto Parts and the Humane Society of Richland County joined forces to host a first annual car show. The car show was held to benefit the Humane Society.
“This is the first time that we have worked with Federated Auto Parts and this is the first car show that has been held. We have four dogs that are here today that are up for adoption. We usually try to hold at least one adoption event a month,” said Mike Vetter, a board member of the Humane Society.
Dan DeVault, a volunteer with the Humane Society and employee of Federated Auto Parts wanted to help raise money and awareness to the Humane Society.
“I have performed some work with the Humane Society and this is how money is raised for the organization; through events in the community. This is the first car show and we want to make it an annual event from now on. We have a tremendous turnout here today and 100 percent of the proceeds will go towards the Humane Society,” said DeVault.
Shelly Ramey, General Manager of Federated Auto Parts, was pleased with the response from the car show. “As of right now we have 72 cars that are here. We are also working with Perry ProTech for this event. There is a bake sale being held in the store and all of the proceeds from it will go towards the Humane Society. We definitely want to make this an annual event,” said Ramey.
Robert “Bob” Hall, was an attendee at the car show. He brought his 1930 Ford Model A, named Henry, to display at the event. “I got Henry last July. I go to as many car shows as I can. I have four cars total and each one of them has a name fitting to their personality,” said Hall. “I alternate taking the cars to the shows. I have been doing this since 2002,” said Hall.
General Manager of Perry ProTech, Mark Gardner, shared his thoughts on the event. “This event is for a great cause. We wanted to help out the Humane Society in any way we could, so we offered our parking lot as a place to put cars for the show along with Federated Auto Parts. We will be participating in the event next year and it will happen around the same time of year. We wanted to make sure we got the timing just right and I really feel like we did. There is an $8 entry fee for the cars and a lot of people have been giving a little extra, which is great to see,” said Gardner.
Houghton explained the process for adopting an animal through the Humane Society. “In order to adopt a dog through the Humane Society, one must fill out an application, visit the animal, and then be approved through the adoption. If for some reason the person cannot keep the animal they have adopted, then we make sure they know they must bring the animal back to the shelter,” said Houghton.
Houghton said that working with the Humane Society has its ups and downs. “I have been working with the Humane Society for about eight years. I have witnessed some very sad situations. On the other hand, I have seen some horrible situations turn into happy endings for some animals,” said Houghton.
“About two or three years ago, we had a Shepherd mix come in. This dog was so skinny it could not even lift its head. We took it to the vet and they didn’t’ think the animal would survive. He did want to eat and we could see that he still had some fight left in him. If the animal is willing to fight, then we will fight right alongside them. Eight months later he was adopted out to a loving home. The good definitely outweighs the bad,” said Houghton.
This is the first car show and we want to make it an annual event from now on. We have a tremendous turnout here today and 100 percent of the proceeds will go towards the Humane Society,” said Dan DeVault, a Federated Auto Parts employee and Humane Society volunteer.
