By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
The annual Thunder on the Plains Car Show is celebrating another successful event earlier this fall, passing a huge fundraising milestone as they prepare for a major change in their annual event date.
Every year since 2016, the Thunder on the Plains Car Show committee has not only put on a car show in Hays but also worked to raise funds that are then donated to local nonprofit groups.
“We've grown every year in giving back, and this year, we will have given back over $100,000 to the community,” Thunder on the Plains secretary and treasurer Jackie Lang said. “We want people to know that we're more than just putting on a car show. We want to give back to the community.”
Lang said they distributed $3,000 in the first year in 2016, and that grew to $25,000 in 2022. They will surpass $100,000 donated since 2016 this year.
Thunder on the Plains committee member Shelby Doty said each year their goal has been to raise more money than the year before.
Three years ago, they started hosting an auction on the day of the car show to help raise funds. Lang said they are grateful for all of the donations that they receive for their auctions.
“We get a lot of things that are donated in kind from our sponsors,” Lang said. “Doing the live auction has really increased our ability to raise funds.”
Lang said they have well over 200 sponsors that help support the car show each year.
“We couldn't do it if we didn't have our sponsors,” Lang said. “There's the sponsors that we can count on every year, just being there big for us.”
What makes the fundraising efforts even more impressive is that the committee was made up of just 10 members this year who were able to put together all of the donations.
This year was also the second year that the group has awarded scholarships to Ellis County students pursuing a career in the automotive industry at North Central Kansas Technical College.
Doty said they have awarded five scholarships through the first two years, and they are excited to present their next rounds of scholarships in 2024.
On top of the fundraising milestone, the group is also proud to announce the annual car show has a new permanent home and date after dealing with changes each of the last few years.
Beginning in 2024, the Thunder on the Plains Car Show will always be on the second Saturday in June at Municipal Park. This year the show will be on June 7 and 8.
Lang said because there are so many events hosted in downtown Hays around Municipal Park in September, it was difficult to guarantee the same weekend every year.
Both Doty and Lang said they believe the change from the fall car show to the early summer will be a positive move. They said they have received good feedback.
“We've had really good comments from people,” Lang said. "You're always going to compete with other car shows. There's always going to be another car show somewhere. We might lose a few people depending on what show they prefer to go to. We might gain some people because we're new to their timelines.”
In 2023, the car show had the most vehicles preregistered in the event’s history with more than 130. There were about 250 cars, pickups, motorcycles and tractors that attended this year’s event.
The committee members will host the Stars and Stripes Breakfast on Sunday, Jan. 14 at the Hays VFW to kick off their year, and then they will be working on fundraising for the 2024 event.
Tickets are available through Thunder on the Plains committee members.