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WARREN -- Car enthusiasts who traveled from Florida, Maine and throughout the Mahoning Valley walked around parking lots around the Sunrise Inn on East Market Street Saturday looking at more than 348 cars ranging from 1920-era Ford Model Ts to the "Bumble Bee" Camaro from the "Transformers" movie franchise.
Bill Simmon, 51, of Columbus, was in Warren to visit the National Packard Museum when he stumbled upon the annual Sunrise Inn Car Show.
"I arrived at the museum too early and ran across this," Simmon said. "This was totally unexpected. It is amazing to have this many cars."
A collector of Volkswagens, Simmon has more than 20 older Volkswagens, a 1968 Cadillac and a 1985 Mercedes Benz with a diesel engine.
David Gut, 17, of Newbury, also a lover of Volkswagen Beetles, determined he was going to buy his own before he was out of elementary school. He got one when he was 16.
Simmon said when he is in one of his cars, he, too, feels like a teenager.
When Barbara Warren ran across a blue Chevy Camaro she smiled and laughed with her sister, Debra Cooley.
"My first car was a white Camaro," Warren said.
Warren resident Michael Price attends the Sunrise Inn Car Show every year.
"This came at the right time," Price said. "It is good to be able to get out and be around people."
Ryan James Sr. carried his son, Ryan Jr., on his shoulders, while talking to Herman Dukes and their family members.
"I've always loved cars since I was a kid," James said. "I rebuilt a 1971 GTO with my uncle when I was a kid. I want to pass on that love of cars to my children."
The proceeds earned from the car show for the last three years have gone to the Travis Mills Foundation, supports post-9/11 injured veterans and their families through long-term programs.
"Veterans and their families can receive all-expense-paid vacations to an ADA accessible retreat in Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine," Chris Miller, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said.
"Veterans are able to participate in many activities while they are recovering from whatever they've experienced while on active duty," Miller said. "It is good to be around people who have an idea of what you've experienced."
Miller, who has been shot twice, stabbed and received other injuries, knows how hard it can be for people to want to move forward.
Miller's brother, Bobby, convinced his in-laws, Jack and Carol Mahan, co-owners of the Sunrise Inn, to donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the car show to the organization.
The Gary Sinise Foundation, which also assists veterans, also sent representatives to the car show.
Bobby Miller said during the first two years the car show donated its proceeds to the Travis Mills Foundation, it raised approximately $20,000.
"This year's car show is the largest we have had in 20-plus years," Bobby Miller said. "We also are hoping to have a significant increase of money raised."
Miller said he had not finished counting the proceeds Saturday evening, but he is hoping they raised at least $5,000.
Warren native David Papp, who now lives in Florida, was in town visiting family and friends Saturday when he decided to go to Sunrise to buy pizza and found the car show.
"I'm a car enthusiast," Papp said. "I would like to have an older car one day, but right now I just admire them."
rsmith@tribtoday.com