My son and I went to see a group of racers performing in a transcontinental race called The Fireball Run. I read about them coming into town and knew it would be a great opportunity to take pictures and see some really nice cars we normally do not see in the Jackson area.
What caught my eye about this particular rally is their charity, Child Rescue Network. Each Fireball Run team is assigned a different missing child. Their mission is to distribute as many posters as possible along the 3500 mile journey from Baton Rouge LA to Grand Rapids MI. Upon arrival to the 2008 Fireball Run teams receive a full color removable decal of their missing child to apply on their vehicle. We were handed fliers from only one team but I think that was due to the lack of anyone really being there from the Jackson area. Even the TV crews left after 30 minutes.
What impressed me the most was last years results. “This three million dollar awareness campaign was hugely successful last year when the rally traveled from Orlando, FL to Beverly Hills, CA. Of the 65 children featured last year, 23 have since been rescued and reunited with their families and guardians.” WOW. Have you ever heard of a program having those kinds of results?
Next year the race is going to cover Route66. My son and I sure wish this was something we could do. It would be a blast! My “hats-off” to Judy Bardin of the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau for bringing the 2008 Fireball Run to Jackson.
It’s been so long I haven’t had time to write anything. We haven’t really worked on any cars for a while until this weekend. My Son installed some GoodYear Gator-back belts on the 240 this weekend. He had a problem with the alternator tensioner bracket as the mounting bolt came off some how and was causing the belt to rub. He bought another bolt and got it corrected. But we had to order the belts as no one had all three in stock. The last one came in this past Saturday morning.
Putting it all back together and firing it up lead to a new noise coming from the fan clutch. So a new fan clutch has been ordered and should arrive today.
A buddy of mine is gathering all the parts needed to construct the booster. He actually is doing all the work too. He found a video of a booster in operation that is what we are looking to have when done.
I should have known not being sponsored by a major player in the Auto biz that this show was going to be lame, and it was. I think my email to the promoters says it all.
—– Original Message —–
From: “Alex Jones”
To: mississippilivestatewide@gmail.com; matt@uholding.com; dunstonekehoe@hotmail.com
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 12:27 PM
Subject: LAME
Gentleman,
My son and I went to your Auto | Bike | Live Entertainment Showcase | Various Artists Concert Friday July 4th at 1:30PM. Our big draw was to see the Auto/Bike show. So since the schedule indicated that the “Cruise in auto & bike” started at 10:00 am – 1:00 pm with judging @ 2:00:pm we wanted to arrive just in time to see the judging going on. When we arrived the parking lot was near empty! There were few cars in the parking lot and after getting in and going into the stands there were 6 people there.
There were 5 cars and 1 bike to look at in the “show.” One car depicted cocaine on the hood and roof. A bit of advice, when you advertise a family event you might want to keep the drug scene out. There was maybe one good quality car out of the 5 and the 1 bike was nice, but come on! Where was the Auto/Bike show?! I have seen some quality car shows around the United States and even the Dodge Event at the Coliseum (which sucks) was better than your show.
The guy at the front gate had no idea what to do with my ticket/card when I presented it to him. He asked me if I was “on the list.” The security guard had to tell him what to do. I’ve said all that to say this, I want my money back! $20 went to you guys and you did not put on a show worth $20. I just need you to tell me how I go about getting my money back.
I did get a reply from one of the guys I emailed apologizing for such a lame show. (Removed his email address from this post). He was hired to run the Auto/Bike Show during the event but had nothing to do with the event itself. He agreed with me that the show was not as advertised. I’m sure the other “thugs” will not reply and I will not get my money back but I’ll keep trying. Maybe one day Jackson will have a quality Auto show come to town.
My son and I and some of his friends are going to a 4th of July “Extravaganza” hosted at the Smith-Wills Stadium and promoted by Mississippi Live Statewide. The more I read the promoters website Mississippi Live Statewide and the fliers they posted, I certainly hope it is going to be worth-while.
The “flyers” are filled with spelling errors such as “Louxarious” 4 day Carnival Cruise and “Spounge” Bob will be there. They seem to cater to mainly musical artists and are adding the other attractions to draw in the crowds. They promise big money for winners including a softball tournament. They are charging $10 per person/per day when you purchase tickets on-line or at Be-Bop Records. They will be $15 at the gate. Plus they’re charging an arm-and-a-leg for registration of all kinds. We’ll only be going on the 4th and only to see the auto & bike show.
I hope they don’t disappoint as the last Car Show “Extravaganza” was lame. Not many people around here seem to want to put on a good car show.