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Courtesy Sandra KunkelDave Kunkel in his classic carDave Kunkel had a long career at
Ford Meter Box Company in Wabash, leaving a legacy within the company and the community. Sandra Kunkel, the wife of the late Dave, says her husband was actively involved in the community, whether it was Little League or the Rotary Club; his presence was felt across the board.
“My husband worked at Ford Meter Box and was the Senior Vice President in charge of Manufacturing,” Sandra explains. “He was diagnosed in November 1999 with
ALS and passed away in late February 2000, just within three months.”
Not long after he passed away, one of Dave’s co-workers, Dan Harvey, approached Sandra about a memorial cruise-in event that would honor Dave’s legacy of life, leadership, and love of classic cars.
“He and Dave had always talked about having a car show in Downtown Wabash,” Sandra says. “He wanted to know if I would be okay if he would go ahead and do it and use Dave’s name. I said my only stipulation would be that the proceeds go for ALS research.”
This is how the
Annual Dave Kunkel Cruise-In for ALS started.
On Friday, Aug. 15, and Saturday, Aug. 16, at the
Honeywell Center in Downtown Wabash, the charity event returns for its 26th year. Drawing in thousands of visitors, the cruise-in features over 400 classic cars, hot rods and convertibles, as well as food trucks and activities for the whole family.
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Kunkel FoundationFlyer for the 2025 cruise-in. Zach Wright is an employee at Ford Meter Box and serves as the vice president of the Kunkel Foundation, which hosts the annual event. He started as a judge at the car show and then eventually became a bit more involved in the scheduling and event planning.
“Two or three years ago, the current president and vice president of the Kunkel Foundation were getting older, retiring, and were looking to step away,” Wright explains. “At that time, myself and Andy Bain agreed to take over and head up the Kunkel Foundation and the event. We have an awesome team of volunteers that help us with everything.”
He adds that he is proud of the philanthropic side of the organization, bringing together employees and community members alike. The event has even become a family tradition for Wright, whose grandfather was a big fan of cars; his son helps judge, and his daughter sells 50/50 raffle tickets.
Since its beginning, the family-friendly event has raised $450,000 in donations to the
Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) for ALS research. Whether it’s the car entrance fees or personal donations from attendees, the event has helped give back to the Wabash community, too.
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Kunkel FoundationMembers of the Kunkel Foundation with a check to Muscular Dystrophy Association“It really is an awesome car show,” Wright says. “As far as a car show goes, in my opinion, it’s one of the top car shows in the area, if not the state. For a lot of the attendees, it’s a destination car show or a vacation show for them. We have attendees that come from out-of-state from Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Illinois, and Michigan.”
Not only has Wright seen the growth happen in terms of sponsorship and donation dollars raised, but also a resurgence of young people getting involved in charity.
“My favorite part about it is seeing so many people from the community, so many of my coworkers and young people getting involved with a charity event like this – to come together for one common goal,” he says. “I like seeing everyone come together to give back to a good cause.”
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Kunkel FoundationThe Dave Kunkel Cruise-In draws in over 400 classic cars.Sandra says she enjoys walking around the event, chatting with husband-and-wife participants who have both driven their historic rides there, and hearing her husband’s favorite tunes from the ‘50s and ‘60s playing in the background. She considers the event a beautiful tribute to her husband.
“It’s just a really fun time,” she says.
Katie Beauchamp grew up attending the cruise-in and developed a love of classic cars early on, inspired by her dad, who was a car enthusiast.
“After my dad passed away, my husband and I ended up with his car — a classic Oldsmobile Cutlass 442,” Beauchamp explains. “My dad was in the car show a few times when he was here, and a few years after he passed away, my husband and I were like, ‘You know what? Why don’t we put the car in the car show?’”
Today, she helps handle the marketing, advertising and social media side of things as a committee member for the Kunkel Cruise-In.
“I love watching this group of people who always come together this weekend,” she says. “It’s a ton of volunteers that spend the whole weekend downtown.”
Car participants and spectators enjoy shopping downtown, chatting with other car owners and enthusiasts, staying in local lodging and eating at local restaurants. Event organizers estimate over 1,000 people attend throughout the busy weekend.
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Kunkel FoundationProceeds from the Dave Kunkel Cruise-In go toward ALS research.“This is a huge event for downtown Wabash,” Beauchamp says. “Honeywell Center has been so generous and accommodating in letting us use their property. The whole downtown area kind of latches onto this weekend, too. All the shops have their sidewalk sales, and they know we’re going to have an influx of people staying at the
Charley Creek Inn, a boutique hotel downtown. Not only is the event great for us, but it also brings tourism dollars downtown to shops, food trucks, restaurants, while other events will piggyback on it too, like the Wabash Farmers Market.”
This year, Friday’s live music lineup includes a local band, 35 Trax, playing feel-good classic rock songs. There will also be food trucks, a DJ, and activities throughout the weekend.
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Kunkel FoundationOn Friday, Aug. 15, and Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Honeywell Center in Downtown Wabash, the Dave Kunkel Cruise-In returns for its 26th year.Ultimately, Sandra says she hopes the event can increase awareness of ALS, too.
“Since my husband was diagnosed with it, I have heard of several people here in Wabash who have had the disease and died,” she adds. “Before that, it was one of those things that you read about or heard about, but you didn’t know anybody locally who was diagnosed with it. I hope everybody realizes that a lot of support is needed for this to raise funds to do research and to find a cure someday.”
The Dave Kunkel Cruise-In takes place at Honeywell Center (275 W. Market St.) from 3 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 15, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16. Car registration is $40 for both days, which includes a t-shirt if you
pre-register. For individual days, car registration is $25. The event is free to the public.
This story was created in partnership with Visit Wabash County.