The Woodlands Car Club opens its 25th anniversary season with a free Community Car Showcase honoring The Woodlands Fire Department on Sunday, Sept. 27.
The showcase runs from 4 to 7 p.m. at McCullough Junior High School alongside The Woodlands Township Annual Boots vs. Badges Softball Game, which pits the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office against The Woodlands Fire Department. Both events are free.
The car showcase will recognize the club's early charitable ties to local first responders. In 2003, club members raised funds at their charity car show to help restore the department's antique fire engine. That truck has since been photographed with Palmer Buck, identified as fire chief in township photos, riding through The Woodlands, according to Woodlands Online.
"Seeing that antique fire truck again brings everything full circle … Our members came together in 2003 to help support the antique fire truck," club president Dana Pritchard said in a Sept. 10 Woodlands Online article announcing the tribute. Pritchard, a founding member, said the milestone is about celebrating the people, partnerships and impact the club has built over 25 years.
The club was established in March 2001 by a small group of local car enthusiasts. Its mission: "Using Our Cars to Give Back to Our Community." Since then, the organization has contributed more than $175,000 to over 100 nonprofit organizations across Montgomery County, according to Hello Woodlands.
The club also launched The Woodlands Cars & Coffee for a Cause in March 2009, the first charity car event of its kind in the area, according to Woodlands Online.
The Sept. 27 showcase is one of several anniversary events planned for this fall:
- Saturday, Sept. 26: A private tour of the Gullo Family Classic Car Museum in Magnolia, with contributions invited for the Gullo Christmas for Kids Charitable Foundation. The event will also honor the memory of Tony Gullo Sr., who died in 2024.
- Saturday, Nov. 14: A community celebration at Becks Prime for car enthusiasts, sponsors, charities and fellow car groups. Car entries are asked to RSVP.
- Sunday, Dec. 6: The Woodlands Cars and Coffee for a Cause, featuring the annual Toy Drive benefiting the Montgomery County Women's Center and year-end check presentations to Operation Pets Alive and the 2026 spotlight charity, The Loved Ones Left Behind (TLOLB), a nonprofit that helps families who have lost a parent to suicide.
Residents can RSVP or learn more by emailing [email protected]. Updates will be posted on The Woodlands Car Club Facebook page.
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