June 30, 2025 • 28 mins
When American muscle meets military gratitude, something special happens. The sixth annual Vets for Willing Warriors Corvette Show returns to the breathtaking 37-acre Warrior Retreat at Bull Run on July 19th, creating a unique convergence of automotive passion and veteran support.
Picture this: rows of gleaming Corvettes spanning seven decades of American innovation, from pristine 1953 classics to the brand-new 2025 electric model making its debut. Last year drew around 240 vehicles, and this year promises an even more impressive turnout. While "Vettes" appears in the name, the show welcomes all classic and antique cars—anything with four wheels and a story to tell.
The day unfolds with surprising energy as dedicated owners arrive before dawn, sometimes as early as 6 AM, to secure prime spots. By 10 AM, the grounds open to the public at no charge, with live classic rock from Radio NV setting the perfect soundtrack. The Knights of Columbus fire up their grills, serving hundreds of visitors hamburgers and hot dogs on a donation basis—community spirit in action.
What makes this event truly special is its setting and purpose. In between admiring meticulously restored vehicles, visitors can tour the retreat houses where wounded warriors and their families find respite. You'll meet Chuck Berge, a Corvette judge since 1988 who travels the country evaluating America's sports car, and potentially Wayne Carini from TV's "Chasing Classic Cars," who returns to select his Celebrity Award winner.
The show transforms into a village of automotive communities as approximately eight different Corvette clubs arrive in impressive convoys, some bringing 40+ vehicles. Awards range from the traditional Founders Award and Veterans' Choice to the People's Choice (determined by beads placed on your favorite car and the new Bell Award for the most unique license plate.
Behind the scenes, nearly 100 volunteers orchestrate this celebration with military precision, creating an experience that draws participants from as far as Buffalo, New York. The event introduces many first-time visitors to the mission of Willing Warriors through the universal language of automotive appreciation.
Ready to participate? Register your vehicle at willingwarriors.org before July 1st for the early bird $20 fee. Sponsors at all levels are welcomed and recognized. Mark July 19th on your calendar (rain date August 9th) and join us for what many participants call their favorite show of the year—where horsepower meets heart in support of our nation's heroes.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Larry Zilliox (00:00):
Good morning.
I'm Larry Zilliox, Director ofCulinary Services here at the
Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, andthis week our guests are Chuck
Bursch, our board member andambassador he's also team lead
for our Corvette show and ourevent coordinator, diane
Lunsford you remember her from aprevious episode.
(00:22):
I've asked him to join me todayso we can talk about the
upcoming Corvette show Vettesfor Willing Warriors.
We're very excited about this.
This is, I think, our 14thannual show.
Chuck Berge (00:36):
It's the sixth annual.
Larry Zilliox (00:37):
Sixth, okay, sixth, let's get right into it.
Chuck, welcome, thank you.
Diane, welcome, thank you.
And so this is something thatwe have every year, it's
something we look forward to,because you guys do all the work
and I really don't have to doanything except show up, which
(00:57):
is my kind of event really.
Sixth annual yes, who wouldhave thought it's crazy?
The only thing we've done morethan this is the gala actually.
The.
Chuck Berge (01:08):
Warrior Ride.
Larry Zilliox (01:09):
Warrior Ride.
We've done seven.
Chuck Berge (01:11):
We're coming into the eighth annual Warrior Ride
this year.
Larry Zilliox (01:14):
Okay, but first things first.
This is going to be July 19thno rain.
Diane Lunsford (01:21):
No, rain no forecast.
Larry Zilliox (01:23):
No forecast for rain.
Rain is the enemy of car shows.
These are folks that even justthe slightest hint of rain, they
don't like to roll them out ofthe barn, because they are
precious and they look like it.
It's great.
So, chuck, tell us a little bitabout the show and what's going
to happen on July 19th.
Diane Lunsford (01:43):
Okay, on July 19th we'll start off with a show
Vets for Willing Warriors.
And just because we say vetsdoesn't mean it's exclusive to
vets.
It's open to classic cars,antique cars as well.
As long as it's got four wheels, we welcome it.
And there's a registration feeyes, online.
Online till July 1st, it's $20.
(02:04):
The until July 1st, it's $20.
The day of the show it's $25.
Wow.
Larry Zilliox (02:10):
Okay, so it's not really breaking the bank for.
Corvette owners.
Okay, and I have to be honestwith you, in previous shows I've
seen some cars that I wasn'treally sure what they were going
.
I thought it was just maybesomebody attending the event and
got parked wrong because theyjust didn't look classic and
(02:31):
they just didn't seem to beanything special about them.
But are there sometimes carsthat people are working on and
they just want to show whatthey're doing?
Diane Lunsford (02:41):
Like a driving project, if you will.
Yeah, there's some cars likethat.
There's some new cars.
This year we're going to haveactually an EVET, which is
electric Corvette.
Wow, and that's a 2025.
Larry Zilliox (02:55):
Wow.
And so you say this is the.
Is this the first year forCorvette to make an electric car
?
Diane Lunsford (03:01):
Yes, yes, it is.
Larry Zilliox (03:02):
All right, so we'll have older Corvettes,
which I love 1953 and up.
Oh, wow, okay, and all the wayto 2025.
Is that one available for saleyet?
Yes, correct, really Okay, allright.
Diane Lunsford (03:18):
Are you getting one?
No, okay.
Larry Zilliox (03:20):
Diane, are you getting one?
Okay, Diane, are you gettingone?
No, okay.
Well, I mean, every year it's afantastic show.
How many cars did we have lastyear?
Roughly Around 240.
Wow, okay, diane.
This is one of the events wherewe need the community, where we
need our volunteers to step up.
(03:41):
What does it take to as theevent coordinator, what does it
take to put on something likethis?
Chuck Berge (03:48):
It takes many hands and a lot of camaraderie and
team spirit.
We are blessed to have FaithLillema who is our volunteer
coordinator.
She and I work very closely onmaking sure that no stone is
left unturned.
We have every potential needfulfilled before we even stage
(04:11):
the event in preparation for theday of.
So she, Chuck and I are kind oflike that whole trio that
orchestrate and hopefully eachyear launch a successful event.
It's been great in years past.
She's dialed in already thisyear.
We just try to make it anexperience that people will
remember and, more importantly,understand why we continue to do
(04:36):
what we do in terms ofsupporting our wounded warriors.
Larry Zilliox (04:41):
So how many volunteers do you think it takes
Close to 100?
.
Chuck Berge (04:46):
I was going to say last year in faith, don't quote
me on this when you listen tothis but I want to say we had
roughly about 85 volunteers onthe ground and what that entails
is everyone's dialed in like afine-tuned machine to do
pre-staging a couple of daysbefore the event, so that when
go time or daytime or the day ofthe event happens, everybody
(05:11):
knows their assignments.
Everybody's here rolling uptheir sleeves, getting
everything ready to open to thepublic, which we opened to the
public at 10 am on the 19th.
Larry Zilliox (05:22):
And that's the public.
But the corvettes show up veryearly.
I noticed in previous years Ithought I was coming early and
and I would drive up and there'dbe a field full of cars at 7 30
.
I mean, it's just crazy umchuck.
Why, why do these?
Why do they show?
Diane Lunsford (05:41):
up so early they think they can get a primo spot
.
Oh, you know, okay, the earlybird gets the worm.
We open up registration at 7.30.
I'm here usually about quarterto six and there's usually
greeted by two or three cars alittle after six.
So it's like okay, good morning, how are you, my goodness?
And it is open to the public.
No charge for the public, right?
Larry Zilliox (06:05):
And our dear, dear friends at the Knights of
Columbus provide food foreverybody at just no cost.
It's just donate what you can,and I mean they're feeding, you
know, easily 400 people hot dogsand hamburgers.
I'm going to be honest with you, it's not, it's not roast duck,
but hot dogs, hamburgers, justthat's a.
It's a massive undertaking andGod bless them for it, because I
(06:30):
know in the early days we didit ourselves and it was.
It was a struggle, but theybring a whole team, they do it
year after year.
They got it down.
It's like science.
They get the grills over there,they're working two grills, we
get a jump on it and we'recooking pretty early and ready
to feed everybody starting at 11.
(06:50):
And everybody has a good time.
We always have entertainment.
So tell us a little bit aboutwho's going to be playing.
Chuck Berge (07:00):
Well, they've actually become, I would say,
part of the extended WillieMoyers family Radio Envy, which
is Revelry Productions.
Brian and the crew play classicmusic.
They can play pretty muchanything that is going to
trigger that old familiar, bringyou back to the moment, the
(07:21):
first time you heard the song.
They're very supportive of theretreat.
Larry Zilliox (07:25):
So that's classic rock, not classic music in the
sense it's not orchestra.
Chuck Berge (07:30):
No, there won't be any violins or harps.
Larry Zilliox (07:33):
Okay.
Chuck Berge (07:33):
It's classic rock and they're just fun.
They have a way of just reallyengaging the community and it
gets people happy and up anddancing or singing along or what
have you.
So they have committed to comeback again this year.
We're grateful to have them.
Larry Zilliox (07:49):
Nice.
Chuck Berge (07:50):
In addition to, as you said, the lunch service does
open up at 11, and please payattention to the events page on
Willing Warriors, because thereis going to be a timeline that
will be published here shortlythat has a few minor adjustments
to it.
Our goal is to make sure thateverybody experiences the whole
(08:12):
event, so we've kind oftightened up the schedule a
little bit to make sure thateverybody gets to enjoy the
entire event without leaving youknow shortly after the awards
or what have you.
Larry Zilliox (08:23):
Yeah, they are phenomenal, they're great,
they're a lot of fun.
They're great and you knowthey're pretty laid back guys.
There's three of them.
They make amazing music andthey've been doing this for at
least four years, I think.
Chuck Berge (08:36):
Yes.
Larry Zilliox (08:37):
Yeah, so we're always happy to have them come
back and help us out andentertain, and I believe they're
going to go from 10 till noonwith the music.
Chuck Berge (08:48):
Yes, They'll start their music at 10 am and they'll
be done playing at noon, whichagain we're grateful for that.
That's actually the heart ofthe event, with a lot of the
community here, so again, it'sanother enhancement to make the
event memorable.
Larry Zilliox (09:05):
Yeah and Chuck, we're going to have all these
cars.
Do we expect at least what wehad last year, or maybe more,
hopefully more.
Diane Lunsford (09:14):
Yeah, yeah.
And if you're concerned aboutweather, we bring a weather
forecaster with us who has aCorvette.
Chuck Bell from Channel 4 willbe here.
He advises us impending stormsor anything like that.
Larry Zilliox (09:29):
So we have our own weather department that
helps forecast everything andlisten.
Come out and meet Chuck.
He's just a wonderful guy we dopray for no rain.
Yes, no, no rain, no rain, noteven a thread of rain.
Chuck Berge (09:46):
Can I ask something to that?
In heaven forbid, if the skiesare cloudy and stormy, we will
not say the morning of oh, we'recanceling because of the rain.
We will do a very strategicwatch with Chuck of the weather
and if it turns out that we dohave to call it because these
(10:08):
car enthusiasts don't want tohave their beautiful vehicles
out in that type of weather,they won't come.
Larry Zilliox (10:14):
They just won't come Right.
Chuck Berge (10:16):
We do have a rain date scheduled, which is August
9th.
Larry Zilliox (10:19):
Okay.
Chuck Berge (10:20):
But we're not even going to go there because the
event will go full sunshine onthe 19th of July.
Diane Lunsford (10:27):
Yeah, yeah, if you have a car that has to be
trailered, we do have trailerparking for those people that do
not want to drive their cars.
Larry Zilliox (10:34):
Yeah, well, I've never thought of trailering my
truck in, but it's good to knowwe have that park.
Trailers are basically forhorses anyway.
Yeah, that's true.
Well, I think we do.
I mean, surprisingly, we dohave.
I've seen up to seven trailershere.
Yeah, I was going to say six.
Yeah.
Diane Lunsford (10:54):
Six or seven trailers, and usually a couple
of trailers park down at myhouse and they drive their cars
up.
Larry Zilliox (10:59):
Wow, wow so what's the story there?
Is it just the value of thevehicle?
They're just afraid thatsomebody's going to run into
them out on the road.
Diane Lunsford (11:10):
That or get dirty or a bug chip or whatever.
Oh my goodness, it's a trophythat sits in the garage to look
at and enjoy Wow.
Larry Zilliox (11:22):
Okay, goodness, okay, it's a trophy that sits in
the garage to look at and enjoy, wow, okay wow, well, yeah,
that's okay, well, bring them.
Yeah, exactly, we got.
We got room for trailers.
We got you covered.
Yeah for sure.
Just uh, reach out to us aheadof time.
If you're going to trailer your, your corvette, in, we need to
know about that so we can assignparking or maybe get somebody
over.
Diane Lunsford (11:40):
You know, we can work something out with the,
the scouts, and if if you have aconcern, if we have a weather
impending issue, watch Facebookor other media.
We will post that the nightbefore.
So you've got plenty of time.
Larry Zilliox (11:55):
Yeah, and we're limiting it to 600 cars this
year.
So sign up right away, don'twait.
Um, just go to the web page.
It's willingwarriorsorg andyou'll see events, a drop down
box.
Hit on that and then you willsee the corvette show and just
(12:18):
you know, click on that and itwill take you to a registration
page and you just register andyou pay your registration fee
and you're good to go.
And a registration fee is percar, per car.
Diane Lunsford (12:31):
Yes, all right.
Larry Zilliox (12:31):
So if you want to get you know nine, ten of your
relatives into that car, justjam them in and they're all
welcome to come.
Diane Lunsford (12:39):
The page isn't limited to just registrations.
If you feel generous and wouldlike to make a donation, we do
accept donations on that page.
Larry Zilliox (12:45):
Yes, and that brings us to sponsorship,
correct.
So we need sponsors for thisevent and talk a little bit
about what sponsorship is, whatit does, diane.
Chuck Berge (13:00):
There's several different levels of sponsorship,
ranging from the presentingsponsor down to the minimal of
sponsoring a warrior and many inbetween.
One of the things that we'revery blessed with with the
sponsors is we have a lot ofpeople who support us and return
year over year.
(13:20):
One of the things that'sexciting is with Chuck being
those boots on the ground.
If you will out to severaldifferent areas throughout the
country, he's constantly meetingand greeting with new people
who certainly have that veteransconnection or that interest and
support for veterans.
So we continue to expand that.
The American Legion is verysupportive.
(13:42):
We have Effie's, which is anice cream, local ice cream
vendor.
They have been with us sincethe beginning.
We have Burke and Herbert Bank,which a lot of these people
reach out to us and say we wouldlike to sponsor.
How do we do that?
And without going ad nauseum toevery single benefit per
(14:09):
sponsorship, I would directpeople to go to
willingwarriorsorg do thedrop-down menu.
The first event you're going tosee is the Vets for Willing
Warriors.
If you click on that there is ared button that says
sponsorship.
Click on that and it hasextremely detailed information
on all the different levels ofsponsorship, that participation
(14:35):
and support because once youbecome a sponsor for the Vets
for Willing Warriors or you getthat connection started with the
Warriors, it's not a matter ofthank you so much, we'll see you
at the same time next year.
It's you've become part of thejourney going forward and
there's many ways that you cancontinue to support.
(14:57):
But this is a very patrioticday and it's a very memorable
day, so I'm very proud to be apart of it.
Larry Zilliox (15:04):
Yeah, well, it's fun.
So think about sponsoring yourbusiness, your organization.
Take a look at that sponsorshippage and, you know, donate what
you can.
Pick a level that you know isgood for you.
If $100,000 is good, that'sgreat.
Pick that level and that'llwork out real well.
(15:28):
You'll be, I think, apresenting sponsor if you come
in with $100,000.
Chuck Berge (15:33):
$100,000 will absolutely get them presenting
sponsor.
Larry Zilliox (15:39):
Okay, all right, so that's our target, that's our
goal, right?
As Diane mentioned, chuck isout traveling.
He's not wandering aimlesslyaround the country, he's
actually going to Corvette showsbecause Chuck is a Corvette
judge, which can you tell uswhat that means?
Diane Lunsford (15:53):
Basically.
We're judging the quality ofthe Corvettes Basically on
originality.
It would be as it left thefactory.
But we also have modifiedsections of that, determined by
the ingenuity of the builder ofthe car and so on and so forth.
But yeah, that's interesting.
I've been doing that since 1988.
(16:14):
How?
Larry Zilliox (16:15):
does one get to be a Corvette judge?
Did you volunteer, did you goto school, or is there an
association that you've had?
Diane Lunsford (16:25):
I volunteered by observing the judging and the
judges what they're looking at,quizzing that.
And that's how it all started,with a living, the dream of
Corvettes and cars.
Larry Zilliox (16:37):
Wow, and so different shows around the
country invite you to be a judge.
Correct, is that how it works?
Correct, that's great.
Well, we're so happy thatyou're here as our judge.
And when it comes to judging,there are a number of different
types of judging going on.
So we have, like, the FoundersAward award.
(16:58):
We have a veteran who, whojudges their favorite, correct
their standards.
Let me tell you, aren't like aCorvette judge standards, it's
like whoo, that looks pretty.
I like that one exactly.
And then what are the other?
Diane Lunsford (17:14):
level.
We have a people's choice whichis determined by beads.
We sell beads, string of beads,and you put that string of
beads on your.
What are the other levels?
We have a people's choice whichis determined by beads.
We sell beads, a string ofbeads, and you put that string
of beads on your favoriteCorvette.
That's people's choice.
This year we're going to have anew award called the Bell Award
.
What that is for the mostunique license tag on your car.
(17:34):
So if you trailer it, you don'thave any tags, you're out.
You get that, you're notgetting that award.
That's the Bell Award.
That's a new one.
We also have a Celebrity Awardand for that we have a gentleman
by the name of Wayne Carinicoming.
Wayne lives in Massachusetts.
He has a TV show ChasingClassic Cars.
He's been with us before, he'scoming again and that'll be his
(17:58):
favorite car.
Larry Zilliox (17:58):
Wow Well let me tell you, if he picks your car,
you got a good car Because Imean, I've seen his show and
he's he's usually around reallynice cars and these corvettes uh
, you just gotta come out hereand see them.
I drive a truck.
It has roll-up windows.
I I couldn't even imaginedriving a corvette, but they are
(18:22):
really pretty to look at and wehave so many.
You can spend an hour easily anhour to two hours just looking
at all the cars and a lot ofthem have really great stories.
So I've seen Corvettes comewhere it was dedicated to
(18:43):
somebody who was a veteran who'sno longer with us.
There's stories about familiesand building the cars together
with their dad or theirgrandfather, and these guys and
gals love to talk about theircars and you can spend a
tremendous amount of timemeeting with everybody and such
(19:06):
nice people.
Corvette owners are really nicepeople and they're here because
they really like this show andI just encourage everybody to
come out and it's going to beJuly 19th, 10 o'clock, open to
the public and while you're hereyou can tour the houses, enjoy
(19:28):
a meal.
We're going to have a number ofveteran service organizations
here as sort of resources forthose veterans that are coming,
who are here for the show.
But you know there will beorganizations that provide
assistance on varying levelsveteran service organizations.
So it's going to be a greattime for everybody, diane.
(19:50):
So it's going to be a greattime for for everybody, diane.
What?
What do you think about thebrand awareness that we get out
of this show?
I mean, we don't we don't makemuch money on this show.
This is not about let's have ahuge fundraiser, but it's more
about getting the word out andhaving something here that
attracts people so that they cansee the retreat.
(20:12):
And if you've never been herebefore, it's a real treat, not
only to see these cars but tocome to the Warrior Retreat at
Bull Run.
So what do you think?
How do you think that kind ofworks for us as an organization?
Chuck Berge (20:26):
I think it's abundantly important when we
host an event, that we have theopportunity to do that on the
actual grounds of the WarriorRetreat, and the level of
awareness that is gained due tothat is an opportunity for us as
(20:47):
an organization to get thatmessage beyond the hallowed
grounds of the Warrior Retreatout into the community and
beyond.
And what I mean by that is totake that and couple it with an
event that is pure Americanathere's nothing more Americana
than Corvettes and Patriots andto have that with the backdrop
(21:10):
of 37 beautiful acres with tworesidences for overnight guest
days of Wounded Warriors, athird residence that is going to
be hosting amazing programs astime goes on for warriors.
It's just very impactful,especially for people.
(21:33):
We just came off of our 10thanniversary celebration.
I met people that day who hadnever been here before and the
resounding sentiment from themwas I had no idea, tell me more
about what you do.
And that's heartwarming for allof us as staff members, because
(21:57):
we're stewards, we're here toprotect and communicate and show
the world.
We're here, and this is our whywe're here because of the
wounded Warriors that we serve.
Larry Zilliox (22:09):
Yeah, yeah, and I know from talking to owners car
owners that I would say in anygiven year, 30% of them have
never been here before.
And one of the things that getsthem to come which is really
great is they're part of a cluband the club is bringing people
(22:32):
and maybe they just join theclub and then they find out
about this show.
The other thing that gets themto come is I know Diane is like
me I keep a flyer in the truckand I chase down people who own
Corvettes and I'm accosting themin the Target parking lot.
Chuck Berge (22:51):
I do that often.
Larry Zilliox (22:52):
Hey, have you ever put that car in a show?
For 20 bucks you can enter ashow, you know.
And what's really fun too is Iwill go like at the gas station,
I'll be looking for them at thegas station and I'll go up to
them and they say, oh yeah, Iwas at last year or the year
before I was there, you know.
(23:12):
So hopefully we'll get you knowa lot more and new people too,
because it's so valuable to umto have them come for the first
time and tour the houses.
Uh, it's also July, so one ofthe ways that we entice people
to tour the houses is to remindthem houses are air conditioned,
so that usually brings them intoo.
(23:36):
And then they're like oh wow,this is pretty nice.
Chuck, talk just for a minuteabout the clubs and how
important they are to the day.
Diane Lunsford (23:45):
Well, the clubs we usually have I'm going to
guess about eight differentCorvette clubs in the area.
One Corvette club in particularusually has about 40
participants, so they all comein together as a group because
they want to park alongside them.
If they come in sporadically,they're going to be away from
their club members, so they allcome in as a group.
(24:07):
I'll get a call.
We're going to leave Walmartparking lot at 7 am, so I'll be
there and they'll come in.
And what's nice and safe aboutit?
We do have a police officer atthe turn coming in and we have
excellent parking attendance andyour cars are going to be
parked distant away from eachother, so your door is the one
(24:28):
next to it and vice versa.
But the clubs are veryimportant.
This and they have.
They have other events.
I like like to think theirfavorite event is vets for
willing warriors, which I thinkmost of them are.
Yeah, but come, come out, seethe club.
You'll see some banners uh,picking in the club what the
name is, whether it's a quietcorvette or whatever yeah and
(24:50):
they'll group together andusually if you want to join them
, they usually have applicationsyeah, you
Larry Zilliox (24:55):
can join the club and I know we've had some from
maryland come in yeah, we've got.
Diane Lunsford (24:59):
We've had two cars to come in from buffalo new
york.
Larry Zilliox (25:02):
Wow yeah, wow.
So, uh, they come from uh, farand wide.
And because this is a greatshow and it's a great cause.
It's not like you're going tobe at a McDonald's parking lot
with your hood up.
This is a real show with realjudges, real celebrities.
(25:23):
Chuck will be here.
You can meet him.
He's a celebrity, he's aCorvette judge, he's a board
member, and so you really wantto come and you know, Wayne
Carini's got a TV show andthat's nice.
But you get a chance to meetChuck, who's an actual Corvette
judge, and he will talk to youabout Corvettes because he knows
(25:44):
about Corvettes and all thedifferent things on them and all
the cool stuff that they have.
Clubs are really great and it'sreally something to see them
come en masse and just a line ofCorvettes down the road waiting
to get in.
It's quite because we have thishill that they come down over
(26:05):
to get into the driveway andit's quite a sight and we have
some great pictures of that.
Well, listen, it's quite asight and we have some great
pictures of that.
Well, listen, it's July 19th.
Uh, registration is open.
Now Go to the webpagewillingwarriorsorg.
Click on events.
You'll see vets for willingwarriors.
Click on that register, payyour registration fee.
(26:26):
It's $20 right now.
If you wait to the last minuteit's going to go up five bucks.
So save that $5, register nowand then on July 19th in the
morning, we'll see you come andenjoy the music, enjoy the food,
enjoy everything.
Take tours of the house, meetChuck, meet Diane she will be
(26:50):
here.
She's the event coordinator.
You'll see her running aroundcrazy and it'll be fun for
everybody.
I guarantee it.
Listen, thank you guys forjoining me.
Thank you, it's been ourpleasure.
Yeah, it's just it's a great,great event and I'm I'm just
really happy that you know thisis the 26th year for this and
(27:12):
I'm sorry wait a minute, sixthyear I just got old, real quick.
Chuck Berge (27:16):
I think it feels like the 26th year sometimes,
right, Chuck?
Larry Zilliox (27:20):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, we've done it for a whileand we've got it down and it
will be fun, I guarantee you.
So, again, july 19th, registeronline willingwarriorsorg.
Click events.
Click vets for Willing Warriors.
Register sponsor and we willsee you on July 19th.
So, for our listeners, we'llhave another episode next Monday
(27:43):
morning at 0500.
You can find us on all themajor podcast platforms.
We're also on YouTube andWreaths Across America.
So thanks for listening.
Good morning.
I'm Larry Zilliox, Director ofCulinary Services here at the
Warrior Retreat at Bull Run, andthis week our guests are Chuck
Bursch, our board member andambassador he's also team lead
for our Corvette show and ourevent coordinator, diane
Lunsford you remember her from aprevious episode.
(00:22):
I've asked him to join me todayso we can talk about the
upcoming Corvette show Vettesfor Willing Warriors.
We're very excited about this.
This is, I think, our 14thannual show.
Chuck Berge (00:36):
It's the sixth annual.
Larry Zilliox (00:37):
Sixth, okay, sixth, let's get right into it.
Chuck, welcome, thank you.
Diane, welcome, thank you.
And so this is something thatwe have every year, it's
something we look forward to,because you guys do all the work
and I really don't have to doanything except show up, which
(00:57):
is my kind of event really.
Sixth annual yes, who wouldhave thought it's crazy?
The only thing we've done morethan this is the gala actually.
The.
Chuck Berge (01:08):
Warrior Ride.
Larry Zilliox (01:09):
Warrior Ride.
We've done seven.
Chuck Berge (01:11):
We're coming into the eighth annual Warrior Ride
this year.
Larry Zilliox (01:14):
Okay, but first things first.
This is going to be July 19thno rain.
Diane Lunsford (01:21):
No, rain no forecast.
Larry Zilliox (01:23):
No forecast for rain.
Rain is the enemy of car shows.
These are folks that even justthe slightest hint of rain, they
don't like to roll them out ofthe barn, because they are
precious and they look like it.
It's great.
So, chuck, tell us a little bitabout the show and what's going
to happen on July 19th.
Diane Lunsford (01:43):
Okay, on July 19th we'll start off with a show
Vets for Willing Warriors.
And just because we say vetsdoesn't mean it's exclusive to
vets.
It's open to classic cars,antique cars as well.
As long as it's got four wheels, we welcome it.
And there's a registration feeyes, online.
Online till July 1st, it's $20.
(02:04):
The until July 1st, it's $20.
The day of the show it's $25.
Wow.
Larry Zilliox (02:10):
Okay, so it's not really breaking the bank for.
Corvette owners.
Okay, and I have to be honestwith you, in previous shows I've
seen some cars that I wasn'treally sure what they were going
.
I thought it was just maybesomebody attending the event and
got parked wrong because theyjust didn't look classic and
(02:31):
they just didn't seem to beanything special about them.
But are there sometimes carsthat people are working on and
they just want to show whatthey're doing?
Diane Lunsford (02:41):
Like a driving project, if you will.
Yeah, there's some cars likethat.
There's some new cars.
This year we're going to haveactually an EVET, which is
electric Corvette.
Wow, and that's a 2025.
Larry Zilliox (02:55):
Wow.
And so you say this is the.
Is this the first year forCorvette to make an electric car
?
Diane Lunsford (03:01):
Yes, yes, it is.
Larry Zilliox (03:02):
All right, so we'll have older Corvettes,
which I love 1953 and up.
Oh, wow, okay, and all the wayto 2025.
Is that one available for saleyet?
Yes, correct, really Okay, allright.
Diane Lunsford (03:18):
Are you getting one?
No, okay.
Larry Zilliox (03:20):
Diane, are you getting one?
Okay, Diane, are you gettingone?
No, okay.
Well, I mean, every year it's afantastic show.
How many cars did we have lastyear?
Roughly Around 240.
Wow, okay, diane.
This is one of the events wherewe need the community, where we
need our volunteers to step up.
(03:41):
What does it take to as theevent coordinator, what does it
take to put on something likethis?
Chuck Berge (03:48):
It takes many hands and a lot of camaraderie and
team spirit.
We are blessed to have FaithLillema who is our volunteer
coordinator.
She and I work very closely onmaking sure that no stone is
left unturned.
We have every potential needfulfilled before we even stage
(04:11):
the event in preparation for theday of.
So she, Chuck and I are kind oflike that whole trio that
orchestrate and hopefully eachyear launch a successful event.
It's been great in years past.
She's dialed in already thisyear.
We just try to make it anexperience that people will
remember and, more importantly,understand why we continue to do
(04:36):
what we do in terms ofsupporting our wounded warriors.
Larry Zilliox (04:41):
So how many volunteers do you think it takes
Close to 100?
.
Chuck Berge (04:46):
I was going to say last year in faith, don't quote
me on this when you listen tothis but I want to say we had
roughly about 85 volunteers onthe ground and what that entails
is everyone's dialed in like afine-tuned machine to do
pre-staging a couple of daysbefore the event, so that when
go time or daytime or the day ofthe event happens, everybody
(05:11):
knows their assignments.
Everybody's here rolling uptheir sleeves, getting
everything ready to open to thepublic, which we opened to the
public at 10 am on the 19th.
Larry Zilliox (05:22):
And that's the public.
But the corvettes show up veryearly.
I noticed in previous years Ithought I was coming early and
and I would drive up and there'dbe a field full of cars at 7 30
.
I mean, it's just crazy umchuck.
Why, why do these?
Why do they show?
Diane Lunsford (05:41):
up so early they think they can get a primo spot
.
Oh, you know, okay, the earlybird gets the worm.
We open up registration at 7.30.
I'm here usually about quarterto six and there's usually
greeted by two or three cars alittle after six.
So it's like okay, good morning, how are you, my goodness?
And it is open to the public.
No charge for the public, right?
Larry Zilliox (06:05):
And our dear, dear friends at the Knights of
Columbus provide food foreverybody at just no cost.
It's just donate what you can,and I mean they're feeding, you
know, easily 400 people hot dogsand hamburgers.
I'm going to be honest with you, it's not, it's not roast duck,
but hot dogs, hamburgers, justthat's a.
It's a massive undertaking andGod bless them for it, because I
(06:30):
know in the early days we didit ourselves and it was.
It was a struggle, but theybring a whole team, they do it
year after year.
They got it down.
It's like science.
They get the grills over there,they're working two grills, we
get a jump on it and we'recooking pretty early and ready
to feed everybody starting at 11.
(06:50):
And everybody has a good time.
We always have entertainment.
So tell us a little bit aboutwho's going to be playing.
Chuck Berge (07:00):
Well, they've actually become, I would say,
part of the extended WillieMoyers family Radio Envy, which
is Revelry Productions.
Brian and the crew play classicmusic.
They can play pretty muchanything that is going to
trigger that old familiar, bringyou back to the moment, the
(07:21):
first time you heard the song.
They're very supportive of theretreat.
Larry Zilliox (07:25):
So that's classic rock, not classic music in the
sense it's not orchestra.
Chuck Berge (07:30):
No, there won't be any violins or harps.
Larry Zilliox (07:33):
Okay.
Chuck Berge (07:33):
It's classic rock and they're just fun.
They have a way of just reallyengaging the community and it
gets people happy and up anddancing or singing along or what
have you.
So they have committed to comeback again this year.
We're grateful to have them.
Larry Zilliox (07:49):
Nice.
Chuck Berge (07:50):
In addition to, as you said, the lunch service does
open up at 11, and please payattention to the events page on
Willing Warriors, because thereis going to be a timeline that
will be published here shortlythat has a few minor adjustments
to it.
Our goal is to make sure thateverybody experiences the whole
(08:12):
event, so we've kind oftightened up the schedule a
little bit to make sure thateverybody gets to enjoy the
entire event without leaving youknow shortly after the awards
or what have you.
Larry Zilliox (08:23):
Yeah, they are phenomenal, they're great,
they're a lot of fun.
They're great and you knowthey're pretty laid back guys.
There's three of them.
They make amazing music andthey've been doing this for at
least four years, I think.
Chuck Berge (08:36):
Yes.
Larry Zilliox (08:37):
Yeah, so we're always happy to have them come
back and help us out andentertain, and I believe they're
going to go from 10 till noonwith the music.
Chuck Berge (08:48):
Yes, They'll start their music at 10 am and they'll
be done playing at noon, whichagain we're grateful for that.
That's actually the heart ofthe event, with a lot of the
community here, so again, it'sanother enhancement to make the
event memorable.
Larry Zilliox (09:05):
Yeah and Chuck, we're going to have all these
cars.
Do we expect at least what wehad last year, or maybe more,
hopefully more.
Diane Lunsford (09:14):
Yeah, yeah.
And if you're concerned aboutweather, we bring a weather
forecaster with us who has aCorvette.
Chuck Bell from Channel 4 willbe here.
He advises us impending stormsor anything like that.
Larry Zilliox (09:29):
So we have our own weather department that
helps forecast everything andlisten.
Come out and meet Chuck.
He's just a wonderful guy we dopray for no rain.
Yes, no, no rain, no rain, noteven a thread of rain.
Chuck Berge (09:46):
Can I ask something to that?
In heaven forbid, if the skiesare cloudy and stormy, we will
not say the morning of oh, we'recanceling because of the rain.
We will do a very strategicwatch with Chuck of the weather
and if it turns out that we dohave to call it because these
(10:08):
car enthusiasts don't want tohave their beautiful vehicles
out in that type of weather,they won't come.
Larry Zilliox (10:14):
They just won't come Right.
Chuck Berge (10:16):
We do have a rain date scheduled, which is August
9th.
Larry Zilliox (10:19):
Okay.
Chuck Berge (10:20):
But we're not even going to go there because the
event will go full sunshine onthe 19th of July.
Diane Lunsford (10:27):
Yeah, yeah, if you have a car that has to be
trailered, we do have trailerparking for those people that do
not want to drive their cars.
Larry Zilliox (10:34):
Yeah, well, I've never thought of trailering my
truck in, but it's good to knowwe have that park.
Trailers are basically forhorses anyway.
Yeah, that's true.
Well, I think we do.
I mean, surprisingly, we dohave.
I've seen up to seven trailershere.
Yeah, I was going to say six.
Yeah.
Diane Lunsford (10:54):
Six or seven trailers, and usually a couple
of trailers park down at myhouse and they drive their cars
up.
Larry Zilliox (10:59):
Wow, wow so what's the story there?
Is it just the value of thevehicle?
They're just afraid thatsomebody's going to run into
them out on the road.
Diane Lunsford (11:10):
That or get dirty or a bug chip or whatever.
Oh my goodness, it's a trophythat sits in the garage to look
at and enjoy Wow.
Larry Zilliox (11:22):
Okay, goodness, okay, it's a trophy that sits in
the garage to look at and enjoy, wow, okay wow, well, yeah,
that's okay, well, bring them.
Yeah, exactly, we got.
We got room for trailers.
We got you covered.
Yeah for sure.
Just uh, reach out to us aheadof time.
If you're going to trailer your, your corvette, in, we need to
know about that so we can assignparking or maybe get somebody
over.
Diane Lunsford (11:40):
You know, we can work something out with the,
the scouts, and if if you have aconcern, if we have a weather
impending issue, watch Facebookor other media.
We will post that the nightbefore.
So you've got plenty of time.
Larry Zilliox (11:55):
Yeah, and we're limiting it to 600 cars this
year.
So sign up right away, don'twait.
Um, just go to the web page.
It's willingwarriorsorg andyou'll see events, a drop down
box.
Hit on that and then you willsee the corvette show and just
(12:18):
you know, click on that and itwill take you to a registration
page and you just register andyou pay your registration fee
and you're good to go.
And a registration fee is percar, per car.
Diane Lunsford (12:31):
Yes, all right.
Larry Zilliox (12:31):
So if you want to get you know nine, ten of your
relatives into that car, justjam them in and they're all
welcome to come.
Diane Lunsford (12:39):
The page isn't limited to just registrations.
If you feel generous and wouldlike to make a donation, we do
accept donations on that page.
Larry Zilliox (12:45):
Yes, and that brings us to sponsorship,
correct.
So we need sponsors for thisevent and talk a little bit
about what sponsorship is, whatit does, diane.
Chuck Berge (13:00):
There's several different levels of sponsorship,
ranging from the presentingsponsor down to the minimal of
sponsoring a warrior and many inbetween.
One of the things that we'revery blessed with with the
sponsors is we have a lot ofpeople who support us and return
year over year.
(13:20):
One of the things that'sexciting is with Chuck being
those boots on the ground.
If you will out to severaldifferent areas throughout the
country, he's constantly meetingand greeting with new people
who certainly have that veteransconnection or that interest and
support for veterans.
So we continue to expand that.
The American Legion is verysupportive.
(13:42):
We have Effie's, which is anice cream, local ice cream
vendor.
They have been with us sincethe beginning.
We have Burke and Herbert Bank,which a lot of these people
reach out to us and say we wouldlike to sponsor.
How do we do that?
And without going ad nauseum toevery single benefit per
(14:09):
sponsorship, I would directpeople to go to
willingwarriorsorg do thedrop-down menu.
The first event you're going tosee is the Vets for Willing
Warriors.
If you click on that there is ared button that says
sponsorship.
Click on that and it hasextremely detailed information
on all the different levels ofsponsorship, that participation
(14:35):
and support because once youbecome a sponsor for the Vets
for Willing Warriors or you getthat connection started with the
Warriors, it's not a matter ofthank you so much, we'll see you
at the same time next year.
It's you've become part of thejourney going forward and
there's many ways that you cancontinue to support.
(14:57):
But this is a very patrioticday and it's a very memorable
day, so I'm very proud to be apart of it.
Larry Zilliox (15:04):
Yeah, well, it's fun.
So think about sponsoring yourbusiness, your organization.
Take a look at that sponsorshippage and, you know, donate what
you can.
Pick a level that you know isgood for you.
If $100,000 is good, that'sgreat.
Pick that level and that'llwork out real well.
(15:28):
You'll be, I think, apresenting sponsor if you come
in with $100,000.
Chuck Berge (15:33):
$100,000 will absolutely get them presenting
sponsor.
Larry Zilliox (15:39):
Okay, all right, so that's our target, that's our
goal, right?
As Diane mentioned, chuck isout traveling.
He's not wandering aimlesslyaround the country, he's
actually going to Corvette showsbecause Chuck is a Corvette
judge, which can you tell uswhat that means?
Diane Lunsford (15:53):
Basically.
We're judging the quality ofthe Corvettes Basically on
originality.
It would be as it left thefactory.
But we also have modifiedsections of that, determined by
the ingenuity of the builder ofthe car and so on and so forth.
But yeah, that's interesting.
I've been doing that since 1988.
(16:14):
How?
Larry Zilliox (16:15):
does one get to be a Corvette judge?
Did you volunteer, did you goto school, or is there an
association that you've had?
Diane Lunsford (16:25):
I volunteered by observing the judging and the
judges what they're looking at,quizzing that.
And that's how it all started,with a living, the dream of
Corvettes and cars.
Larry Zilliox (16:37):
Wow, and so different shows around the
country invite you to be a judge.
Correct, is that how it works?
Correct, that's great.
Well, we're so happy thatyou're here as our judge.
And when it comes to judging,there are a number of different
types of judging going on.
So we have, like, the FoundersAward award.
(16:58):
We have a veteran who, whojudges their favorite, correct
their standards.
Let me tell you, aren't like aCorvette judge standards, it's
like whoo, that looks pretty.
I like that one exactly.
And then what are the other?
Diane Lunsford (17:14):
level.
We have a people's choice whichis determined by beads.
We sell beads, string of beads,and you put that string of
beads on your.
What are the other levels?
We have a people's choice whichis determined by beads.
We sell beads, a string ofbeads, and you put that string
of beads on your favoriteCorvette.
That's people's choice.
This year we're going to have anew award called the Bell Award
.
What that is for the mostunique license tag on your car.
(17:34):
So if you trailer it, you don'thave any tags, you're out.
You get that, you're notgetting that award.
That's the Bell Award.
That's a new one.
We also have a Celebrity Awardand for that we have a gentleman
by the name of Wayne Carinicoming.
Wayne lives in Massachusetts.
He has a TV show ChasingClassic Cars.
He's been with us before, he'scoming again and that'll be his
(17:58):
favorite car.
Larry Zilliox (17:58):
Wow Well let me tell you, if he picks your car,
you got a good car Because Imean, I've seen his show and
he's he's usually around reallynice cars and these corvettes uh
, you just gotta come out hereand see them.
I drive a truck.
It has roll-up windows.
I I couldn't even imaginedriving a corvette, but they are
(18:22):
really pretty to look at and wehave so many.
You can spend an hour easily anhour to two hours just looking
at all the cars and a lot ofthem have really great stories.
So I've seen Corvettes comewhere it was dedicated to
(18:43):
somebody who was a veteran who'sno longer with us.
There's stories about familiesand building the cars together
with their dad or theirgrandfather, and these guys and
gals love to talk about theircars and you can spend a
tremendous amount of timemeeting with everybody and such
(19:06):
nice people.
Corvette owners are really nicepeople and they're here because
they really like this show andI just encourage everybody to
come out and it's going to beJuly 19th, 10 o'clock, open to
the public and while you're hereyou can tour the houses, enjoy
(19:28):
a meal.
We're going to have a number ofveteran service organizations
here as sort of resources forthose veterans that are coming,
who are here for the show.
But you know there will beorganizations that provide
assistance on varying levelsveteran service organizations.
So it's going to be a greattime for everybody, diane.
(19:50):
So it's going to be a greattime for for everybody, diane.
What?
What do you think about thebrand awareness that we get out
of this show?
I mean, we don't we don't makemuch money on this show.
This is not about let's have ahuge fundraiser, but it's more
about getting the word out andhaving something here that
attracts people so that they cansee the retreat.
(20:12):
And if you've never been herebefore, it's a real treat, not
only to see these cars but tocome to the Warrior Retreat at
Bull Run.
So what do you think?
How do you think that kind ofworks for us as an organization?
Chuck Berge (20:26):
I think it's abundantly important when we
host an event, that we have theopportunity to do that on the
actual grounds of the WarriorRetreat, and the level of
awareness that is gained due tothat is an opportunity for us as
(20:47):
an organization to get thatmessage beyond the hallowed
grounds of the Warrior Retreatout into the community and
beyond.
And what I mean by that is totake that and couple it with an
event that is pure Americanathere's nothing more Americana
than Corvettes and Patriots andto have that with the backdrop
(21:10):
of 37 beautiful acres with tworesidences for overnight guest
days of Wounded Warriors, athird residence that is going to
be hosting amazing programs astime goes on for warriors.
It's just very impactful,especially for people.
(21:33):
We just came off of our 10thanniversary celebration.
I met people that day who hadnever been here before and the
resounding sentiment from themwas I had no idea, tell me more
about what you do.
And that's heartwarming for allof us as staff members, because
(21:57):
we're stewards, we're here toprotect and communicate and show
the world.
We're here, and this is our whywe're here because of the
wounded Warriors that we serve.
Larry Zilliox (22:09):
Yeah, yeah, and I know from talking to owners car
owners that I would say in anygiven year, 30% of them have
never been here before.
And one of the things that getsthem to come which is really
great is they're part of a cluband the club is bringing people
(22:32):
and maybe they just join theclub and then they find out
about this show.
The other thing that gets themto come is I know Diane is like
me I keep a flyer in the truckand I chase down people who own
Corvettes and I'm accosting themin the Target parking lot.
Chuck Berge (22:51):
I do that often.
Larry Zilliox (22:52):
Hey, have you ever put that car in a show?
For 20 bucks you can enter ashow, you know.
And what's really fun too is Iwill go like at the gas station,
I'll be looking for them at thegas station and I'll go up to
them and they say, oh yeah, Iwas at last year or the year
before I was there, you know.
(23:12):
So hopefully we'll get you knowa lot more and new people too,
because it's so valuable to umto have them come for the first
time and tour the houses.
Uh, it's also July, so one ofthe ways that we entice people
to tour the houses is to remindthem houses are air conditioned,
so that usually brings them intoo.
(23:36):
And then they're like oh wow,this is pretty nice.
Chuck, talk just for a minuteabout the clubs and how
important they are to the day.
Diane Lunsford (23:45):
Well, the clubs we usually have I'm going to
guess about eight differentCorvette clubs in the area.
One Corvette club in particularusually has about 40
participants, so they all comein together as a group because
they want to park alongside them.
If they come in sporadically,they're going to be away from
their club members, so they allcome in as a group.
(24:07):
I'll get a call.
We're going to leave Walmartparking lot at 7 am, so I'll be
there and they'll come in.
And what's nice and safe aboutit?
We do have a police officer atthe turn coming in and we have
excellent parking attendance andyour cars are going to be
parked distant away from eachother, so your door is the one
(24:28):
next to it and vice versa.
But the clubs are veryimportant.
This and they have.
They have other events.
I like like to think theirfavorite event is vets for
willing warriors, which I thinkmost of them are.
Yeah, but come, come out, seethe club.
You'll see some banners uh,picking in the club what the
name is, whether it's a quietcorvette or whatever yeah and
(24:50):
they'll group together andusually if you want to join them
, they usually have applicationsyeah, you
Larry Zilliox (24:55):
can join the club and I know we've had some from
maryland come in yeah, we've got.
Diane Lunsford (24:59):
We've had two cars to come in from buffalo new
york.
Larry Zilliox (25:02):
Wow yeah, wow.
So, uh, they come from uh, farand wide.
And because this is a greatshow and it's a great cause.
It's not like you're going tobe at a McDonald's parking lot
with your hood up.
This is a real show with realjudges, real celebrities.
(25:23):
Chuck will be here.
You can meet him.
He's a celebrity, he's aCorvette judge, he's a board
member, and so you really wantto come and you know, Wayne
Carini's got a TV show andthat's nice.
But you get a chance to meetChuck, who's an actual Corvette
judge, and he will talk to youabout Corvettes because he knows
(25:44):
about Corvettes and all thedifferent things on them and all
the cool stuff that they have.
Clubs are really great and it'sreally something to see them
come en masse and just a line ofCorvettes down the road waiting
to get in.
It's quite because we have thishill that they come down over
(26:05):
to get into the driveway andit's quite a sight and we have
some great pictures of that.
Well, listen, it's quite asight and we have some great
pictures of that.
Well, listen, it's July 19th.
Uh, registration is open.
Now Go to the webpagewillingwarriorsorg.
Click on events.
You'll see vets for willingwarriors.
Click on that register, payyour registration fee.
(26:26):
It's $20 right now.
If you wait to the last minuteit's going to go up five bucks.
So save that $5, register nowand then on July 19th in the
morning, we'll see you come andenjoy the music, enjoy the food,
enjoy everything.
Take tours of the house, meetChuck, meet Diane she will be
(26:50):
here.
She's the event coordinator.
You'll see her running aroundcrazy and it'll be fun for
everybody.
I guarantee it.
Listen, thank you guys forjoining me.
Thank you, it's been ourpleasure.
Yeah, it's just it's a great,great event and I'm I'm just
really happy that you know thisis the 26th year for this and
(27:12):
I'm sorry wait a minute, sixthyear I just got old, real quick.
Chuck Berge (27:16):
I think it feels like the 26th year sometimes,
right, Chuck?
Larry Zilliox (27:20):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, we've done it for a whileand we've got it down and it
will be fun, I guarantee you.
So, again, july 19th, registeronline willingwarriorsorg.
Click events.
Click vets for Willing Warriors.
Register sponsor and we willsee you on July 19th.
So, for our listeners, we'llhave another episode next Monday
(27:43):
morning at 0500.
You can find us on all themajor podcast platforms.
We're also on YouTube andWreaths Across America.
So thanks for listening.
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