Cruizin’ for a Cause honors veterans, supports VFW

It was a pre-Fourth of July celebration unlike any other.

For the first time in its brief history, the Johnston Street Machines’ weekly Cruizin’ for a Cause event was entirely focused on local veterans, who president Gary Maddocks Jr. introduced as “the brave men and women who fought for our country.”

And those veterans, who represented nearly all branches of the nation’s armed forces, played a major role in the week’s Cruizin’ event. They were honored with the fun-filled duty of selecting winners from a huge field of vintage vehicles that filled almost every available spot in the Denny’s Restaurant parking lot off Route 6.

In all, the veterans walked all over the parking lot and wound up selecting 11 “Best of Show” cars and a half-dozen “Best of Show” motorcycles. The trophies awarded to the winners were donated by Steve Lawton, who owns and operates JTL Landscaping at 2440 Mendon Road in Cumberland.

“The owners of all those classic cars and motorcycles donated $5 each that will be added to the money we already raised this month for the Rhode Island Association of Veterans of Foreign Wars,” Maddocks said.

By the time 7:45 p.m. rolled around and “DJ Car-Guy” Richard George was winding down the tunes, Maddocks announced it was time for the special trophy presentations.

Maddocks also announced, with many of the night’s honored veterans standing by his side, that the Johnston Street Machines will be donating $1,892 to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2929 as a result of June’s Cruizin’ for a Cause. That funding will be used to provide relief for veterans who cannot afford to purchase medical equipment and other needs for their daily lives.

Maddocks also said the donation will assist paralyzed veterans with the purchase of a newly developed chair called the “mini-tank wheelchair,” which has tank tracks and has the ability to go up and down stairs and over different terrain.

Gary Gearheart, a member of Post 2929, sold raffle tickets throughout the car cruise and demonstrated the “mini-tank wheelchair” that will be raffled off in the near future and given to a paralyzed veteran.

In yet another emotional presentation, Maddocks called upon his father – state advocate and advisor to the state VFW commander Gary W. Maddocks Sr. – who told an attentive audience “just how important tonight’s donation, as well as others like it, is for our nation’s veterans.”

Cruizin’ for a Cause – which will continue today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Denny’s parking lot, and will present July’s donations to the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Foundation for the second time in as many years – has been added to the VFW’s ever-growing list of supporters.

The Johnston Street Machines, which last year raised upwards of $8,000 for its designated charities, has now raised $2,680 in its first two months of the 2016 season. Last month’s total of $788 was donated to the MAE Organization for the Homeless.