"Here were all these office workers standing around with buckets full of water and no cars." That's how Paradise Valley resident Bob Lavina described the scene to the Daily Independent in 2023, remembering a day almost twenty years earlier when he drove past a Town staff fundraiser on Lincoln Drive. He came back three times with different cars from his collection so they'd have something to wash. On the last visit he made a pitch.
"I said, 'Well, you're in the heart of vintage car America. Instead of sitting here making $100 or $200, if you do a car show, I can guarantee you'll make at least $1,000,'" he told the Independent.
On Saturday, November 14, that idea holds its 21st edition in the Town Hall parking lot at 6401 E. Lincoln Dr. The Town calls the Veterans' Appreciation Vintage Car Show its largest annual event. It takes place on the Town Hall parking lot. The cars come out of neighbors' garages and the volunteers are neighbors too. The show still measures itself the way Lavina did at the car wash, by how much money it raises for a cause.
From Buckets to a Bigger Ask
Lavina took his idea to Diane Wayland, a legal support specialist in the Town Attorney's office. She brought it to Ed Winkler, then vice mayor, and Winkler took it to Mayor Ron Clark. The Town's 2025 Community Magazine describes both men as huge car enthusiasts who loved the idea.
The first show took a few more years to come together. It drew upwards of 80 cars, according to the magazine. Lavina told the Independent it raised more than the car wash had, and it also gave him a nickname. "That's how I got the nickname 'Car Wash Bob,'" he said.
His $1,000 guarantee turned out to be a low estimate.
How Far the Number Has Moved
| Milestone | What it brought in |
|---|---|
| Staff car wash, before the show existed | $100 to $200, by Lavina's account |
| Lavina's pitch | "At least $1,000" |
| First car show | Upwards of 80 cars |
| 18th show, 2023 | 150 vehicles |
| 19th show, 2024 | $13,724.17 raised |
| 21st show, 2026 | $10,567 on the registration page before show day |
The 2024 figure came from a public check presentation. The Paradise Valley Independent reported that representatives of the Car Show Committee, Sentinels of Freedom and Military Assistance Mission attended the December 12, 2024 Town Council meeting, where the checks for $13,724.17 were presented. That works out to roughly 13 times Lavina's promised minimum and close to 70 times the high end of a good car-wash day.
The 2026 tally was already past $10,500 in early November, nearly two weeks before any car had parked. Most of the money arrives through entry donations, so the fundraising is largely done before show day.
A Cutoff Year That Keeps Moving Forward
Every entry has to meet an age limit, and that limit shifts. In 2023, Winkler described the show as open to pre-1983 collections. In 2024 the line was pre-1984. For 2026, the registration page lists pre-1986 sports cars, antiques, special-interest vehicles, race cars and motorcycles. The cutoff has moved forward about a year at a time, so each fall a slightly newer group of cars becomes eligible to park next to the oldest ones.
In 2024 Winkler described the range like this: "cars from the Brass era, pre-war classics, vintage European and American sports cars, '50s chrome beauties, muscle cars, hot rods, trucks and motorcycles." He also told the Independent in 2023 that the lineup sometimes includes a half-track, a half-truck, half-tank military vehicle, which suits a Veterans Day weekend.
Many of these cars live just down the street. Winkler said some of the collectors who enter have their own personal car museums or have built underground garages for their collections. The Town's invitation each year asks residents and friends to take their collector cars out of the garage and drive them to Town Hall. "There's an amazing number of remarkable automobiles in Paradise Valley, preserved in a pristine way," Lavina told the Independent. In 2023 he said he planned to bring either his 1959 Corvette or his 1970 Jaguar, depending on his mood that morning.
The Town's magazine says the show sells out its display spots every year and now brings in more than 150 classic cars. "Most car guys in the Phoenix area look forward to this show because they know it is the highest-end car show in town," Winkler told the Independent.
The Same Hands, Year After Year
A show built from residents' garages also depends on residents' time. The magazine says the volunteers plan all year, and that the event couldn't happen without resident volunteers, Town staff, several former mayors, council members, committee members, the police department and public works crews. Ed Winkler, the vice mayor who first carried Lavina's idea to the mayor, later became mayor himself. The magazine says the former mayor still leads the event.
The 2023 committee photo published by the Paradise Valley Independent named Diane Wayland, Rick Mahrle, Warren Kosters, Kevin Albert, Nigel Williams, Andrew Ching, Joe DiVenti, Taylor Hunter, Jerry Cooper and Winkler. The group included Town staff, police, council members and residents.
Fred Fleet may be the best example of that long commitment. A Town announcement quoted by the Independent in December 2024 said Fleet had paid for the dash placards given to participants for 19 years. That year he built a board displaying the placard from every show the town had held and presented it to the mayor and Town Council. Each new placard is added to the board going forward. This year's placard will be the board's 21st.
The volunteers have also made room for the next generation. For the 2024 show, Winkler said the Town would bring "the two new police pursuit vehicles plus the new town street sweeper" so that "the young ones" could get behind the wheel, the Daily Independent reported. The release stated the show's goal as getting residents of all ages to Town Hall to meet their neighbors and some outstanding military veterans.
Saturday Morning on Lincoln Drive
Vehicle registration closed Wednesday, November 11, at 4 p.m. For everyone else, this weekend comes down to showing up.
- When: Saturday, November 14, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., per the Town's event notice
- Where: Town Hall parking lot, 6401 E. Lincoln Dr.
- Cost to look: Free and open to the public
- Luncheon: $40 per person at Camelback Golf Club, tax and gratuity included, no vehicle required, sold through the GiveSmart event page, which does not accept American Express
- Questions: Kristi Hillebert, 480-348-3636 or [email protected]
Entry donations go to two Arizona veterans' organizations. The Independent described Sentinels of Freedom as a nonprofit that helps severely wounded or injured post-9/11 veterans transition back to civilian life. It described Military Assistance Mission as a nonprofit that supports Arizona military members and their families. Both groups have received the show's proceeds since at least 2023.
"It's a great venue for a great cause for great people," Lavina told the Independent. If the past few years hold, the 2026 total will be presented to the Town Council after the show, and Fred Fleet's 21st placard will go up on the board.
At Clayton Wolfe, we appreciate the collectors who preserve a car for decades and then drive it to Town Hall for a morning, and we pay the same attention to the homes that hold those collections, from climate-controlled garages to private car galleries. If you'd like to talk about a property that needs to house a collection like the ones on Lincoln Drive this Saturday, Request a Private Consultation.
