| Original History of the Southern Cruisers
On November 8, 1990, Art & Judy Johnson, Clovis Duncan, Bill Colvin, Tim Butler, Terry Meredith and Tom Laird gathered to discuss the idea of forming a car club. That night the Southern Cruisers Car Club became a reality. By the end of December, charter membership had grown to eleven.
The club was to be different than most. We would be an open club allowing vehicles of all makes, models and years. In addition to business meetings being held monthly, we wanted to have monthly events that were fun for the entire family.
Since 1992, the Southern Cruisers have ha a very successful annual car show. We have made donations to various charities such as St. Jude and the Boy's and Girl's Club.
The Southern Cruisers believe in supporting our community and local activities. Our 1993 Christmas float was the best of the best and featured in the newspaper and television. It's been said by local media, "When the Southern Cruisers' show up, things start happening".
Southern Cruisers is a well established club. We love driving our cars and we take a lot of pride in them. We enjoy participating in car shows and rod runs.
Tom Laird, Charter President
1992-1993
Charter Membership List:
Art & Judy Johnson
Bill Colvin
Tim Butler
Clovis Duncan
Hazel Hill
Paul Weir
James Hall
Gene Robertson
Red Rousch
Terry Meredith
| | Current history of the Southern Cruisers
During the early 2000s, the Southern Cruisers began inviting members of surrounding communities to join our club. We gained a diverse group of new members from surrounding communities: Starkville, West Point, Caledonia, Maben, and Eastern Alabama just to name a few. These members have brought with them a wide variety of vehicles which represent the original mission of the charter club members: to include all makes and models of vehicles. The club also host various car related events each year to include all family members and friends.
For the past few years, the club has had a strong president who took a good club and built it into a well recognized organization.
Our car show has been revamped into a cruise-in event that is held at a gorgeous location along the Tenn-Tom waterway at the Columbus Lock and Dam in Columbus, MS. The event has been renamed "Cruisin' the River" and is held during mid September each year. The car show continues to grow with participants voicing exciting opinions of the activities that are included in the 2 day event.
The car show festivities kick off on Friday evening with activities for early arriving participants which include music and fellowship. On Saturday morning, registration gets underway at 8 AM and activities are planned throughout the day to keep car enthusiasts involved and active.
The games, food, music and races all come together while judging is being processed. Clubs are encouraged to compete with one another in our Gravity Slow Drag Race. The overall winner of the Race becomes the "King of the Hill" for that year and is asked to return the next year to defend his title.
After all the games, judging and races have been completed, participants gather in the ampitheater for an auction and the presentation of trophies.
If you haven't attended one of our shows, we invite you to mark your calendars for this year's event. We promise you will NOT be disappointed!!
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