Best of the Best Car Show to benefit local nonprofit

The Best of the Best car show took place Saturday, Nov. 9 at Sierra Vista Mall. (Ryan Kish/Clovis Roundup)

Over 150 cars and motorcycles gathered at the Sierra Vista Mall on Saturday for the 2019 Best of the Best car and motorcycle show. This year’s event is the second annual running of the show that was organized by CaliShine Import Production.

Over 30 categories including best Honda, best Lexus, best Dodge, best engine bay, and best interior made up this year’s competition.

Also gathered at the event was a string of food trucks competing in their own set of competitions — as well as selling everything from barbecue to Mexican food.

In addition to the food trucks and cars, a handful of vendors, local businesses and organizations were gathered at the event.

One of those local organizations was A Hopeful Encounter. They’re a local charity based in Fresno whose mission is to build schools and further children’s education in South East Asia.

After opening their first school in Laos in 2015, they are currently raising funds to construct their second school in the region.

All proceeds gained from the event are being donated to help them in their mission of creating better educational opportunities in the region.

“We believe that education is vital to the human development and empowerment in the stages of growth in a nation,” A Hopeful Encounter wrote on their website.

Their campaign towards creating better educational opportunities in the region has led them to focus their resources on the building and refurbishing of schools. As well as supplying already-built schools with much-needed supplies such as desks, chairs, and notebooks.

“In honor of the scholars who have touched our lives, especially our parents, the work we do through A Hopeful Encounter will allow us to give all children in South East Asia the gift of education,” said the founder of A Hopeful Encounter, Susan Xiong, on the organization’s website.

Ryan graduated from Buchanan High School in 2018 and is currently a student at Clovis Community College and plans to transfer to a four-year school to complete a degree in journalism or political science. Ryan was born in Pennsylvania, has lived in four states, and thinks the Yankees need to be more creative with the design of their batting practice hats.