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Larry the 'Corvette Guy' is a Stand Up Cruiser

Longtime Corvette lover organizes food drive for the needy.

Posted by Judy Davids (Editor) , August 09, 2013 at 07:03 AM

Royal Oak Patch

Some people live and breathe Corvettes, while others in search of a meal struggle just to get by. For a 66-year-old Warren man, both groups have become a full-time passion.

This is the sixth year longtime 'Vette lover Larry Courtney and wife Verna will organize a food drive down Woodward Avenue.

On Aug. 14, a 4-mile long parade of Corvettes will cruise with food for St. John's Episcopal Church's Open Hands Food Pantry in Royal Oak, which serves residents of Oakland County in times of emergency, providing food and other essential items.

'Figure it out'
The Drive2EndHunger, as it's now called, all started in 2008 when a buddy from New Jersey called to say he was coming to the Woodward Dream Cruise and wanted Courtney to organize some activities while he was in town.

"I said to him, 'What do you expect me to do?' My friend said, 'It's your town. Figure it out.'"

So Courtney made plans to visit museums, restaurants and private car collections, but he didn't think that was special enough. That's when he came up with the idea to create a food drive for the Open Hands Food Pantry.


I get by with a little help from my friends
The idea for the food drive sped off. Today Drive2EndHunger attracts approximately 500 'Vette owners from across the country and around the world.

"We've had people come from Australia and New Zealand and borrow a car to be a part of it," Courtney said.

Courtney said the classic car community as a whole is very generous, but the Corvette community has the strongest heart.

"If you wave at someone in a Corvette, they'll wave back. People who drive Cadillacs don't wave at each other," he said with a laugh.

Last year Courtney and friends delivered enough food to St. John's to fill the church's garage.


Living a dream
Retired since 2006, Courtney said he puts as much energy into his retirement as he did to working in steel mills.

"I can't just sit around with a remote control in my hand," Courtney said. He's always on the move in his 1999 Corvette. "I think the guys that invented the Corvette had no idea the kind of culture they were creating."

There isn't a day that goes by that someone doesn't take a photograph or ask if they can climb in Courtney's red, white and blue Corvette. Once he had his trunk open and two kids asked if they could sit in it, he said.

And then there are the days when a $50 or $100 check arrives from a Corvette owner in North Carolina or California for the Open Hands Food Pantry, and that feels pretty good, too.

"People tell me, 'You're living a dream," Courtney said. "I sure am."

Nice Writeup! See you Tomorrow.

Two C7's were cruisin' the strip tonight. One green and one black.

There were 5 C7s out Saturday night. They told me They might stop at the Radisson. Harlan Charles is in Monterrey California with the rest of the design team.

There was a short video with that also.

Larry and Verna - Another great year for the event! I love it every year! Keep it going!

Steve

Ditto what Steve said. Great job, great crowd, great cars and even greater organizers Larry and Verna.

Randy

Corvettes on Woodward
 

Detroit Newspaper coverage of the event last night with 22 pics
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...O02/308140121/

Good job as usual Larry. Any idea on the car count? I got there around 5 and it seemed pretty light but as it got closer to 7 the lot seemed to fill up.

I just found out I could drive up there Saturday. Any chance there is parking available? If you have parking for sale or any way I could join in I'd appreciate any leads.

Thank you!
James

Check out this thread to get spot
https://www.corvetteforum.com/great-lakes/3316981-woodward-dream-cruise-2013-a.html

Awesome time up there guys! Katech, Lingenfelter, Gm heritage etc were great!