Montecito Motor Classic: Celebrating Heroes

This year’s Montecito Motor Classic on Coast Village Road will be celebrating two kinds of heroes: our first responders and our military veterans. As Dolores Johnson, one of the founders of the Classic, notes, “My mother, Alexandra, worked for Boeing as one of the many Rosie the Riveters, my father, Martin Morelli, served in WW2, and my brother, James Morelli, served in Vietnam. We can’t forget our military heroes and this gives us a chance to reconnect with them, along with our first responders.” 

The event will feature first-responder vehicles, notable military vehicles such as General Patton’s jeep. Children will love the novelty of the vehicle, and the parents can reflect on Patton’s outstanding WW2 achievements. 

When Pearl Harbor was attacked, American servicemen and women joined the military as a chance to offer a tremendous service to our country and something to be proud of. Our costs were heavy. More than 400,000 military personnel died in World War II; 58,000 in Vietnam, 36,000 in Korea, 4,000 in Iraq, and 2,200 have died in Afghanistan. Thousands upon thousands returned to our country injured both physically and emotionally. 

With our most recent wars being fought so far away from American soil, it is difficult for younger generations to fully appreciate all that these men and women have faced and currently face daily. 

During our recent disasters, many of us had a chance to witness our first responders up close, defending us from fire and rescuing our community out of the mud. We met them in local restaurants and saw trucks from North Texas, Oregon, Arizona, and Alaska stationing up in our hills. We met our local police and sheriff forces, and also those from Pasadena and Tulare, among other places, who’d come here to help us. 

We had the opportunity to thank them personally and embraced them as our heroes. 

Now, it’s our chance to offer thanks and connect all generations to both our military veterans and first responders. The Montecito Motor Classic will give us the opportunity to see the fantastic vehicles that both of these branches of public service have used to protect us, and to remember and thank all who have put their lives on the line for us. 

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The Montecito Motor Classic – dedicated this year to Porsche and Ford’s Model A – will feature cars from all periods, classic and modern, along with law enforcement and military vehicles, and hundreds of them will be on display from 9 am to 3 pm on Sunday, September 23, all along Coast Village Road. Mark your calendar now!