The 3rd annual South Florida Stangs Mustang Club 911 Tribute Run which was sponsored this year by Steeda Autosports. This was our greatest year ever as over 200 Mustangs were in attendance which helped SFS raise over $8,400 for the September 11th Families Association through registration, T shirts sales, raffle ticket sales and a live auction.
The event started in Davie Florida where eight Florida Highway Patrol Officers and Fire Emergency units from several locales were staged as escorts for the run. Miami Heat Cheerleaders attended the early morning launch party along with TV news coverage from local media. Once everyone was registered and the rules of the run were set clear, FHP escorted the parade of Mustangs on a 2.5 hour hike blocking major highways and intersections, all the way down to Islamorada in the beautiful Florida Keys. Our host this year was Holiday Isle, known for the world famous Tiki Bar and its amazing location. During the run, many bystanders pulled over and cheered the procession of Mustangs on, all of them blazing American 911 Commemorative flags from their antennas.
Once the caravan of all different kinds of Mustangs arrived, SFS staff members were waiting at the facility and quickly organized the attendees into a spectacular car show. (Incidentally with over 200 Mustangs, the SFS 911 Tribute Run doubles the amount of Mustangs even at Super Stang Fest in Daytona).
After the attendees were able to enjoy a day of sunshine, beautiful cars and world famous Tiki Bar rum runners, they were ushered into the seaside pavilion that along with the facility was literally donated by Holiday Isle. Over 400 people took part in a wonderful ceremony given by SFS member and Pastor Ken Steele. After the ceremony everyone was excited to hear the outcome of a huge amount of raffle prizes donated by several South Florida Mustang speed shops and local businesses. At the conclusion of the event, hundreds of attendees stayed over at Holiday Isle and sold out the resort.
The money raised by this event goes to the September 11th Families Association which helps support the 911 Tribute Center located across from Ground Zero in New York City. This year over 1,800 Family members of the fallen visited the Tribute Center on September 11th which gave them a place to honor, remember and morn their loved ones.
This event started life three years ago as the brain child of several SFS members and we had over 125 Mustangs in attendance with only 30 days of planning the first year. Since then the event has grown every year and based on the percentage of growth each year, we may have to look at yet an even larger venue. We hope to have your publication as a part of our next event.