Founder: Cars for Kids
fundraiser will continue
Published June 26, 2007
By Jeff York
For the Daily Corinthian

SELMER, Tenn. -- A show of support and encouragement from many people -- including new sponsors -- has led Cars for Kids founder Larry Price to declare the will continue operation of the fund-raising car show.

The number of calls and e-mails supporting Cars for Kids to keep going has helped convince Price it is best to keep the car show operating in the future. Cars for Kids next show will be Aug. 4 in Brownsville, Tenn.

“We have had people tell us they want us to go on and keep helping the kids,”said Price, who founded the event 17 years ago in Selmer. “We’ve gotten calls from churches and other people who are praying for us and that has made me feel better in a tough time.”

Price said he has been in a daze since the tragic accident on June 16 that claimed the lives of six people and injured over 20 others.

“We are still wondering why this accident happened and the only person that knows is the good Lord,” Price said. “It has been tough because of the people who were hurt and died.”

The Cars for Kids founder said he intends to keep two promises to raise money for needy kids, one to God and one to B.J. Russom, a young man dying of muscular dystrophy.

“I promised God that if he let my son (Chad Price) live after his bike accident that I would raise money for sick children and I promised B.J. that Cars for Kids would keep going,” said Price. “God kept Chad alive and I intend to keep my two promises.”

This is not the first time Price has been at a crossroads on whether to continue his car show. A car wreck in October 1999 claimed the life of Price’s wife, Linda, and left him in no state of mind to continue Cars for Kids.
“When I lost Linda in the wreck, I wanted to just quit everything,” Price said. “I thought about the two promises that I had made and knew I could not stop Cars for Kids.”

Price said he wants to keep raising money as a way to keep alive the memory of the victims of the accident.

“I do not want those people to die in vain,” Price noted. “We are going to try to take a negative and turn it into a positive. We’ve already gotten more sponsors (since the accident) to help us raise more money.”

The negative coverage from some newspapers has bothered Price with one paper even checking the tax returns of Cars for Kids.

“My accountant has told me that we have no worries and they can bring it on,” said Price.

Cars for Kids is a car show that has raised funds for charities since 1990. The event in Selmer features a car and truck show, lawn & garden tractor pull, a carnival, food vendors and entertainment.

A few charities that benefit from Cars for Kids are St. Jude's, LeBonheur Children's Hospital, United Cerebral Palsy and Easter Seals.

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