Autopro Young owner Jamie Torr has run the show - previously called the Autopro Cherry Festival Car Show - since its inception five years ago.

However, the cost of the public liability insurance required to hold the event and the enormous workload to run it meant it was becoming a burden for him, despite his obvious passion for it.

On top of that, Jamie had to foot a $1000 sponsorship payment for use of the Autopro name in the festival.   

“A few days ago it was just off in my mind,” he said. “At the end of the day, it was too much for one person to hold and the flip side was there wasn’t much gain.” 

In walks John Hobson of Hobson’s Refrigeration and Air-conditioning, who was incensed at the news.

“He is the Cherry Festival,” John said of Jamie. “He’s the one who brings the crowds in.”

“Why’s the poor bloke trying to handle it on his own?” he asked.

So John got on the blower and began lobbying council and whomever would listen about the situation.

One of those people was local identity Stuart Maxwell, who blasted John and Jamie’s concerns from 2LF’s airwaves for Cherry Festival Committee president Lenore Schiller to hear. 

“As soon as I found out the car show wasn’t going ahead, I called the meeting,” Lenore said.

“As far as a drawcard, the car show is the second biggest event of the festival, so it would have impacted on businesses within the town and the Cherry Festival as a whole.” 

Meanwhile, John phoned Young Council’s general manager Peter Vlatko, who arranged for council director Greg Armstrong to attend the meeting in his place.

 “They didn’t want to see it go either,” John said. “They just thought it should go ahead.” 

And so Jamie, John, Lenore and Greg, along with Young’s mayor Stuart Freudenstein and Maree Lamb from the Visitor’s Centre, met to try and come up with a solution.

At the meeting, it was decided the car show would now fly under the Cherry Festival banner and therefore be covered by council’s insurance policy, with a name change to the Young Cherry Festival Car Show presented by Autopro.

It was also decided council would share part of the workload of running the event.

As for the sponsorship payment, Lenore said this was still under discussion with ongoing negotiations taking place regarding council’s assistance to Jamie. 

“I’ve got to say, I’m overwhelmed with the support council has shown me,” Jamie of the meeting. “I was shocked the way council saw the car show as a major event.”

Lenore said she felt it was a positive meeting with all parties leaving satisfied.

“At this stage the car show is going ahead with the assistance of council coming to his aid,” she said. 

John said he was “chuffed” at the outcome.

“You’re always a good person after you die,” he said of everyone’s new found appreciation for the show once they realised it could be history.

Jamie said he felt relieved the car show had been saved, saying it now had enormous potential for the town if he continued to get council back-up.

“I’m feeling really excited for the future of the car show.”