The 8th Annual Whittier Area Classic Car show proved cars and trucks are more than getting from “Point A to Point B.” The event drew 503 showcars, an estimated 10,000 people and raised $14,500 for the Keith Boyer Memorial Scholarship Fund on Feb. 23 at Whittier Area Community Church.
Tod Linklatter, Eric Velitzek and Bob Wheeler were driving forces behind the automotive spectacle that’s been wowing visitors since the first show Feb. 25, 2012.
“The parking lot was full all day. You couldn’t get near the place,” said Linklatter, who paints houses for a living, many of them in Friendly Hills. “In the end we raised $14,500 for the Keith Boyer Memorial Scholarship fund at the Whittier Union High School District. We also raised $10,300 and something for ‘Love Whittier’ (formerly known as ‘Serve Weekend’).”
He said 140 volunteers turned out on the day of the show.
“It’s a huge, huge team effort. It takes us eight months to plan,” Linklatter said.
He said the show will return next year, and usually coincides on the Saturday following opening day for Murphy Ranch Little League.
Boyer was slain in the line of duty on Mar Vista Street about 8 a.m. on Feb. 20, 2017 by an alleged gang member who had just been paroled. During a pat-down search Boyer was fatally wounded and Officer Patrick Hazell was injured by Michael Christopher Mejia, who faces the death penalty.
Linklatter said this year proceeds raised will be shared among all schools in the Whittier Union High School District.
“Because he graduated from La Serna and was a local kid, and because he was the community resource officer at La Serna, they thought giving a scholarship to the rest of the kids in the district would be a cool thing,” Linklatter said. “It’s spreading the love around the rest of the district.”
By Tim Traeger
Editor of The Friendly Hiller
Photo credit:
https://www.facebook.com/SunKenPhotography
