Our History
The Friends of Coal Auto Fair has evolved over the past six years in both the name and the size of the event, but the cause has always been the same.
The concept for the event was originally presented in January of 2004 by one of the Beckley – Raleigh County YMCA's Board of Directors during a meeting to find a solution to the high annual costs of operating the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex – a $5 million dollar state-of-the-art facility featuring eight full-size soccer fields (two offering stadium seating) complete with lighting for night games and soccer specific scoreboards; two locker room facilities with restrooms and showers; two conference rooms; a press box area; a fully functional concession stand with nearby restrooms; a 1 ½ mile walking trail; and a children's playground. The facility had played host to a number of YMCA youth programs and events such as the West Virginia State Soccer Tournament, the YMCA Thanksgiving Day Run, and the Highland Games. The idea was simple: a weekend car show highlighted by a Saturday night concert that would offer fun for both car enthusiasts and the whole family with all proceeds going to support the YMCA. Dubbed "The Whitewater Run Car Show", the first event was scheduled for July 23 – 25, 2004.
With less than seven months to go before the event, a steering committee, consisting of YMCA staff, Beckley businessmen & women, and local car enthusiasts, came together to take on the task of making the show happen. The procuring of sponsorships began and a grassroots marketing campaign soon followed.
Following months of putting in long hours and a lot of hard work, July arrived and the Whitewater Run Car Show became a reality. Over 200 hundred cars representing several states converged on Beckley and the event helped to successfully raise thousands of dollars in support of the YMCA.
Realizing that many companies involved in the coal industry helped sponsor the show and that that support would be instrumental in the continued success of the event, the committee decided to meet with representatives of the Friends of Coal over the next several months to help garner even more support.
With the Whitewater Run Car Show scheduled for July 22-24, the committee reconvened in early winter of 2005 to begin the process of putting together the event. As an even greater number of sponsorships – especially those involved with the coal industry – began to come on board, the decision was made to rename the car show the Friends of Coal Auto Fair.
The 2005 Friends of Coal Auto Fair was an even bigger and better event with 346 cars and numerous vendors representing seven different states and coming from as far away as California. Thousands were on hand to enjoy a fun filled weekend and the YMCA once again benefited from the strong support of the show.
In just a short time, The Friends of Coal Auto Fair has established itself as one of the fastest growing car shows in the state of West Virginia and the continued strong support from our sponsors, our committee members, the show's participants and the community of Beckley, WV will help ensure its success for years to come.
