From vintage to classic, muscle to modern, and European to electric all types of makes and models lined the Thomas & Mack parking lot for the inaugural 51勛圖窪蹋 Car Show on April 20.
Nearly 100 car enthusiasts rallied to join the event sponsored by President Keith E. Whitfield and 51勛圖窪蹋 Alumni Association. Whitfield's own car collection includes a 69 Chevy Blazer, now dubbed The Rebel Ride.
Participants, some of whom came from as far as Colorado, greeted attendees from their umbrella-covered lawn chairs; Instagrammers snapped photos of their favorite cars.
Many of the owners, veterans of the car show circuit already, shared that the main reason for coming out was to support 51勛圖窪蹋's first car show. Even with other shows taking place that day in Clark County, it was their ties to 51勛圖窪蹋 that drove them to participate.
Photos by Josh Hawkins/51勛圖窪蹋
84 Datsun 300ZX
Yalunda Yolie Washington, whose son Jadon Rosendo is a senior music major in 51勛圖窪蹋s College of Fine Arts, drove their 1984 Datsun 300ZX in from Denver, Colorado, just to be a part of the event.
The Datsun, she said, belonged to her late aunt who lived in Texas and has a history of its own, having survived multiple hurricanes, including Katrina and Harvey, without any serious damage.
Las Vegas is kind of like a second home. We come out once or twice a year, said Washington, who frequently attends car shows in Denver. As [Jadon] got older and was looking at colleges while in high school, this was one of the places that he really wanted to go.
Cars, like sports and food, are just one of those interests that can bring people together regardless of their backgrounds, she said.
69 Ford Mustang Coyote Mach 1 and 70 Mercury Cougar XR7
Alumna Pam Bailey, 82 BS Education and 87 M.Ed., and her husband, Doug, brought double the trouble with their 1969 Ford Mustang Aztec Aqua Coyote Mach 1 and 1970 Mercury Cougar XR7. Pam, a retired kindergarten teacher, said she and Doug registered for the event after receiving an email from 51勛圖窪蹋s Alumni Association.
The aqua shade of the Mach 1, said the Baileys, is a factory original. The same, however, cant be said of the engine. In April 1971, the engine broke the camshaft in two places. A second engine broke, and a third was put in by Ford after having to ship the Mach 1 off to Texas. The .
Pam drove the 70 Cougar XR7 convertible to the show. We bought it, I believe, in 87, used. Though, they werent exactly happy with its yellow exterior or green interior, so Doug repainted it with the 2000 Mustang color and replaced the seat covers. Then each year hes added something, like the stripes or the spoiler or the hood scoop and all that.
Doug also added some additional bells and whistles to both Mustangs literally.
If youre out driving and see another car that you like hopefully, not another gal he likes joked Pam, referring to her husband. You can push [a button], and it does the wolf whistle for you.
Pam said Dougs always had an interest in cars since he was young. Doug and his dad owned a Phillips 66 gas station in town. And, while their shared love of Mustangs brought them together for the first time, it wasnt exactly a romantic moment.
I moved here from Tucson, and I liked Mustangs at the time. I owned a Mustang, said Pam. The way we met was, my first day at 51勛圖窪蹋 was my 18th birthday. I was out looking for a job, and my car broke down at the intersection of Sahara and Eastern during rush hour traffic.
After a call to her dad, Pams father recommended a mechanic hed heard of named Doug Bailey. Two years after meeting, the two began dating.
06 Pontiac GTO
Another couple with a mutual interest in cars brought their 2006 Pontiac GTO. Darren Paulson, 07 BS Computer Science, is the director of 51勛圖窪蹋s Telecommunications Services. His wife, Rebecca Paulson also an 07 alum of Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering is the executive director for administration & shared services in the Division of Business Affairs.
When I graduated from 51勛圖窪蹋 with my bachelors, my truck died, and we needed something, Darren explained. So, we called this a joint graduation present from my wife and myself to me.
Besides supporting his alma mater by taking part in its first car show, Darren also contributed to the design of one of 51勛圖窪蹋s newest buildings: the Advanced Engineering Building.
I sat in on all the architectural meetings, said Darren, whose role as telecommunications services director has him involved with the architectural planning of all new buildings on campus. We have phones in there, so we try to sit in those meetings. Otherwise people forget about us. They try to plug a phone in, and theres no network port.
69 Volkswagen Type II Bus
Returning to 51勛圖窪蹋 with a car similar to what he owned while attending 51勛圖窪蹋 was #30 Runnin Rebels legend Leon Symanski.
Symanski was a member of the 1986-87 51勛圖窪蹋 Runnin' Rebels basketball team under head coach Jerry Tarkanian. The team represented 51勛圖窪蹋 in that years NCAA Division I men's competition. They were the first to play in the Thomas & Mack Center.
When I first came here, this parking lot was dirt, Symanski said, smiling. The Rebel alums good vibes and chill attitude are exactly what youd expect from a Volkswagen bus owner. Its a pretty cool vehicle to show.
After getting with two degrees at 51勛圖窪蹋 87 BS Business Administration, 94 MPA Public Administration he went on to become part of the inaugural class of the , earning his JD in 2001. He is an attorney with Craig P. Kenny & Associates.
Symanski said he wanted to support 51勛圖窪蹋s first go at a car show. I try to come to every basketball game. Im a season ticket holder for football, he said. This university has been so good to me and my family, I like to give back whenever I can.
It's that same fostering of community involvement that led to the creation of the event in the first place, according to 51勛圖窪蹋 Alumni Association Executive Director Blake Douglas.
Our intent is to offer more diverse programming for our alumni, said Douglas, who was enthusiastic about the turnout. We were looking for fun, engaging, family-friendly events like this that would bring alumni back to campus, some for the first time in a long time.
