Nearly 250 classic cars entered the 2021 annual Baum Chevrolet Buick car show last month on Sunday of the Apple n' Pork Festival in Clinton and raised $16,000 for the Clinton YMCA.

The annual classic car show at Scott Baum's dealership in Clinton was hailed as a big success says Marketing Director Janell Baum-Thomas. The funds were raised thanks to entry fees as well as a trio of raffles.

Clinton YMCA Executive Director Rennie Cluver was pleased to see the enthusiasm for the car show and the YMCA. He is very thankful for everything that was done at the car show and was impressed with how the event was conducted.

Cluver had hopes of using the funds raised from the fundraiser for maintenance on its fleet of vehicles for Camp Osage, the summer program for area youth. With $16,000, Cluver says his sights might just be shifting to purchasing a much-needed new bus.

From the Baum Chevrolet Buick perspective, Baum-Thomas says they are going to look into helping kids that cannot afford the opportunities of the YMCA. The passing of youth activities director David Torbert earlier this year prompted the YMCA to be the beneficiary of this year's car show and Baum-Thomas says youth programming was very important to Torbert.

This year's Best in Show and Participants' Choice winners hail from Oreana, Ill., and Hudson, Ill., respectively. Best in Show was awarded to Chuck Wilson of Oreana, Ill., for his 1955 Chevrolet Truck. Mark Hanes of Hudson, Ill., earned a Participants’ Choice award for his 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline.

Austin Cooley of Clinton held the winning ticket for the EZ-GO Golf Cart, which was raffled to support Camp Osage at the Clinton YMCA.

In addition to the dealership employees and volunteer judges, the Decatur Blaze Hockey Team and YMCA volunteers helped staff the event. Baum Chevrolet Buick is a lead sponsor of the Blaze, a U.S. Premier Hockey League team that hosts its home games at the Decatur Civic Center from October through February.