HOT PURSUIT
When COVID-19 shut everything down four years ago, Clint Seykora did a little brainstorming to come up with something that would fill the void for people belonging and having something to do. He came up with a car show.
And it’s something that has stuck ever since that COVID-plagued year of 2020 when 70 cars came out.
On Saturday, Seykora, owner of Seykora Repair in Owatonna, held his fifth car show with about 115 vehicles on display. There were 102 registered and “12 that just showed up,” he said.
A variety of cars showed up from a 1915 Ford T to a red 1930 Model A, which was awarded Best of Show. There were also lots of muscle cars as well as a rare Jeep that Seykora had never seen before. This particular Jeep was one of only 100 ever made.
Seykora also gave out several choice awards from his wife and kids to Sheriff Lon Thiele and local radio DJ Brad Kubat, who all picked their favorites.
“This was one of my better shows,” said Seykora, who works on classics as well as many other vehicles.
Seykora doesn’t charge an entry fee, but donation buckets are made available for those who want to help worthy causes. In the past, Seykora has picked out different charities around Steele County with the donations raised.
This year, Seykora raised $1,160 and rounded the check up to $1,500 before finding it in his heart to donate everything to a little boy fighting cancer. After the show was over, he went to the Owatonna VFW Club with a check for Colton Smith, the 4-year-old son of Mike and Rachel Smith of Medford. Colton has been battling bilateral Wilm’s tumors, which is a childhood kidney cancer. He is undergoing aggressive chemotherapy and radiation at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. His dad is a veteran sheriff’s sergeant with Steele County.
“Open hearts, open wallets,” Seykora said of the money raised at his car show.
Though Seykora had to prior connection to the Smith family, he met Colton and shared some fist knocks with him. “I just felt it was something I had to do,” Seykora said.
For Seykora, it especially hit home as he and his wife Jennifer have four children. “I couldn’t imagine what they are going through,” he said.
Kara Smith, a family spokesperson, said the Smith family couldn’t be more thankful for Seykora’s generosity, along with all those who donated and turned out for Saturday’s benefit. “We were not expecting that,” Smith said of Seykora’s donation.
The generosity of complete strangers like Seykora is especially remarkable in the divisive times we’re currently living in. It’s special to see how people still want to do the right thing to help others facing significant challenges.
Now, let’s hope the Smiths, along with the medical team, can go in hot pursuit of knocking Colton’s cancer out so that he can grow up to lead a normal life.