Senior Raises Scholarship Funds at Car Show
April 10, 2017
On Sunday, April 2, Automotive student Genesis Blanco raised nearly $400 toward the William Murphy Scholarship Fund. The scholarship, established last year, is granted to a graduating senior in the Automotive program in the name of long-term Automotive teacher, and Davies grad, Bill Murphy.
Murphy, who despite retirement, still fills in as an educator at Davies, attended the event to serve as the People’s Choice Judge and awarded three cars first, second, and third place. Automotive students designed the trophies (pictured below) out of two adjustable wrenches, bearings, and a harmonic balancer.
Fifteen cars displayed at the event, which also featured a DJ – playing atmospherically appropriate oldies songs – and a raffle. The show ran from 8 AM to 2 PM.
Although the show was planned by Genesis as a senior project, Automotive instructor Mike Strojny says he plans for the event to become a tradition, now that Genesis has laid the groundwork.
“I knew it was a lot of work,” Strojny said. “But I learned a lot from Genesis. She met with the head of the Rhode Island Hot Rod Club to learn about insurance needs. She met with DJs. She met with police and spoke with firefighters to make sure we had the right permits. She met with business owners to get donations. There’s a lot of red tape and she put it all together, even organizing students to act as parking attendants.”
The winning cars were:
- 1941 Ford Pick Up (Kevin Shafer)
- 1929 Ford Pick Up (Jack Woodmansee)
- 1937 Chevy (Bruce Cameron)
Other showcased cars included a 1969 Volkswagen Bus, a 1972 Ford Mustang Convertible, and a 1983 Delorean, among others. Davies Librarian Pam Goodness also showcased her 1961 Nash Metropolitan (with fully decked eyelashes, pictured below).
Next year, Strojny plans for the event to be held later in the school year and to expand its reach.
Photos of the three winning cars pictured below.