When plans were coming together for the 2023 edition of the Bent Wrench Run Show and Shine, members of the ‘Those Guys’ Car Club decided to take a bit of a different approach to things.
What they came up with has resulted in the organization making its largest donation in the Run’s history, with $4,325 going to Hunger in Moose Jaw as proceeds from the Father’s Day extravaganza.
“That’s the most we’ve ever been able to do, but as you keep doing it, you figure out how to streamline some stuff and you get some different ideas from people, you go with it and you get better results,” said Bent Wrench Run organizer Kevin Kincaid.
While the club was able to bring in more funds through sponsorships, a new affiliation with the Saskatchewan Association of Automoblie Clubs cut their insurance costs for the event substantially, and the Wakamow Valley Authority stepped up by donating the park for the show and shine.
A few tweaks here and there, some new ideas, and voila, a record donation.
“We thought we’d be in the $3,000 mark just with the support we had from our sponsors, but around $4,000 was the goal, so it turned out really well,” Kincaid said. “Our best from our other shows was around $2,000 and in the early years, with the show expenses and everything, you were lucky if you had anything left over.
“So we’re really happy with it all and we’re really happy to be able to make a donation like that.”
Hunger in Moose Jaw has been the charity of choice for the Bent Wrench Run since its inception, with the goal of helping children’s nutritional needs aligning nicely with their organization.
“It’s local, it’s community-based and it’s for the kids, that’s the main reason,” Kincaid said. “Maybe if you get some help when you’re young, it’ll help you in the future and Hunger in Moose Jaw has been great to work with and they’re really appreciative.”
As for the Bent Wrench Run itself, Kincaid reported another wildly successful event outside of the donation, with 150 cars taking part, plenty of vendor support and -- of course -- the thousands of patrons who visited throughout the day on Father’s Day.
“I was very happy with it, we had good food vendors and they all said they’ll come back next year… there were a lot of other vendors who were supportive and there were a lot of different things for people to see.,” Kincaid said. “We had people calling us up and asking to come to the show, and we were ‘absolutely’.
"So we’re always happy to have that kind of support and we hope it’ll be even better next year.”
