CENTRAL KANSAS CORVETTE ASSOCIATION
Patriots Parade and CKCA Drive & Dine to Cheney Lake
and Steve & Laurie's Annual 4th of July BBQ Extravaganza
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Hutch, Cheney Lake and South Hutch, KS
– Hosted by Gerald & Denise Haughton and Steven Bernard & Laurie Bortner
Patriots Parade and CKCA Drive & Dine to Cheney Lake
and Steve & Laurie's Annual 4th of July BBQ Extravaganza
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Hutch, Cheney Lake and South Hutch, KS
– Hosted by Gerald & Denise Haughton and Steven Bernard & Laurie Bortner
ATTENDEES:
Cameron Brewer & Amy Borecky, Chuck & Tammy Zimmerman,
John & Darlene Neufeld, Darwin & Nadine Henry, Wayne & Marcia Strawder,
Lee Spence, John Denney, Terry Dowers & Pam Shirley, Jack Martin,
Steven Bernard & Laurie Bortner, Karen Ukens, Galen & Marilyn Seehafer,
Bill & Anita Barnhart, and Gerald & Denise Haughton.
Thank you all!
Cameron Brewer & Amy Borecky, Chuck & Tammy Zimmerman,
John & Darlene Neufeld, Darwin & Nadine Henry, Wayne & Marcia Strawder,
Lee Spence, John Denney, Terry Dowers & Pam Shirley, Jack Martin,
Steven Bernard & Laurie Bortner, Karen Ukens, Galen & Marilyn Seehafer,
Bill & Anita Barnhart, and Gerald & Denise Haughton.
Thank you all!
PRE-EVENT ITINERARY:
FOR THOSE CKCA MEMBERS PARTICIPATING WITH YOUR CORVETTE IN THE PATRIOTS PARADE IN DOWNTOWN HUTCH ON SAT. JULY 4, 2026:
Meet at Atwoods/Kwik Shop at 30th & Lorraine in Hutch on Saturday morning at 7:30. We will depart for parade staging/lineup at 7:45. We're in Group 2 and will enter staging/lineup at Poplar St & Ave B:
Meet at Atwoods/Kwik Shop at 30th & Lorraine in Hutch on Saturday morning at 7:30. We will depart for parade staging/lineup at 7:45. We're in Group 2 and will enter staging/lineup at Poplar St & Ave B:
Since the parade doesn't begin rolling until 10, we recommend that you bring lawn chairs and refreshments.
After the parade we will proceed to the Pride of Kansas building at the Kansas State Fairgrounds for group photos.
FOR THOSE CKCA MEMBERS PARTICIPATING IN THE DRIVE & DINE TO STEVE & LAURIE'S AFTER THE PARADE:
We will meet at the Hutchinson Airport at 11:45 and depart at noon. We will be driving south through Yoder to Cheney Lake, with an approximately 45-minute rest and refreshment stop at O'Brien's Marina, before proceeding to Steve & Laurie's 4th of July BBQ in South Hutch. Our goal is to arrive at Steve & Laurie's at approximately 2 p.m.
NOTES:
1. For those of you driving your Corvettes in the parade, participation in the Drive & Dine afterwards is not mandatory.
2. If you're not participating in the parade, you're still welcome to join us for the Drive & Dine.
Please reach out if you have any questions.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1032173016003079/
https://www.facebook.com/eaglemediahutch
https://www.visithutch.com/upcoming-events/calendar-of-events/p/event/36071/2026-patriots-parade-&-celebration
https://www.facebook.com/eaglemediahutch
https://www.visithutch.com/upcoming-events/calendar-of-events/p/event/36071/2026-patriots-parade-&-celebration
POST-EVENT RECAP:
To say this year's Patriots Parade was an adventure would be a massive understatement.
We could see dark, angry-looking weather bearing down from the west from our vantage point at Atwoods, and as we worked our way down Severance toward staging, we saw multiple massive lightning bolts, drawing ever closer to Hutch, arcing down from an ominous wall of inky-black clouds.
Within just a few moments of arriving at the Group 2 staging area on Avenue B, we made the command decision to abandon ship and flee to the safer confines of the First National Bank building parking garage – the storm was nearly upon us. Hail and lightning were our biggest concerns and it seemed prudent to QUICKLY stack the odds better in our favor.
The wind front on the leading edge of the storm slammed into us just as we were crossing Main on Sherman (I later heard reports of 70-mph winds recorded at the airport), and not more than a moment or two after we got stopped in the parking garage the sky collapsed around us, with lightning, thunder, wind and torrential sideways rain.
During the ensuing meteorological melee, John Neufeld called and said he and Darlene were, "stuck in Medora, waiting on a train" (which would make a great lyric in a country music song, I'm thinking). I asked him if it was raining there. "Oh, yeah!"
Cameron Brewer, driving his topless '64 Roadster today, had run home from Atwoods to wait out the rain, and Terry Dowers & Pam Shirley, driving their '06 Coupe sans Targa top today (so they could fit their lawn chairs in the back), had also headed back home to wait out the storm.
We intently studied the weather radar on Chuck Zimmerman's cell phone. I'm guessing we killed at least an hour hunkered down at the FNB parking garage before we felt it was prudent to head back to staging.
Unfortunately, the primo staging spot next to George Pyle Park we had staked out earlier was long gone by then, and we ended up wedged way down Walnut, next to the railroad tracks, stuck in the muck and the mire (another great lyric).
We made the most of it, however, and spirits were high. Chuck cheerfully made the rounds with a cleaning cloth, wiping off mud as necessary from the tires of the assembled Corvettes.
The parade itself was outstanding, and Eagle Media reported there were "over 140 entries, up more than 50 from last year." I mean, how often do you get a chance to help celebrate your nation's 250th birthday?!?
Lee Spence was chosen to lead our contingent of cool Corvettes in the parade, a worthy honor for the man who has faithfully guided our club for the past two years. Lee was joined by his grandchildren Eliza and Jameson, who were visiting from Olathe. Great kids!
I took lots of photos of parade-watchers this year as we rolled slowly up Main Street. Children, in particular, are fun to photograph. Adults usually don't care to have their photo taken (guilty...), but kids are generally fearless and enthusiastic when it comes to such things. We should probably all conduct ourselves more like children.
After we cleared the north end of the parade route (don't miss the photo in the gallery below of John Denney deploying his new C8's speed brakes for our left turn onto 12th!), Lee led us to the Pride of Kansas building at the Kansas State Fairgrounds for our traditional post-parade photo shoot.
After an enjoyable session of herding cats (thank you Amy Borecky for your help with the photos!), most of us were then off to Hutchinson Airport to begin the Drive & Dine portion of our day. Darwin & Nadine Henry made the trip down from Salina and rolled into the airport just moments after we arrived.
A benefit of this morning's storm was blessed relief from the heat – it's been an egg-baker of late. This morning was remarkably cool and pleasant after the weather rolled through, and the drive down to Cheney Lake this afternoon was refreshingly pleasant.
O'Brien's Marina is a great place for an extended pit stop, and they – owners Kevin & Stephanie O'Brien and their crew – were as thrilled to see us as we were to see them. Their store is immaculate, well stocked, and well staffed with friendly, cheerful people.
Unfortunately for the marina, all the rain we've had of late has brought Cheney Lake up to full pool (and probably then some), and three major campgrounds on the east side of the lake – M&M Point, Wichita Point and Heimerman Point – were closed this holiday weekend due to high water inundating the campgrounds.
These closures are a massive hit for a tourist-based business like O'Brien's, so we were happy to hang out and spend some money with them.
Kevin O'Brien – an affable man with an infectious laugh – introduced himself during our stop, and just had to come out and admire our lineup of Corvettes. During our visit we discovered that Kevin is currently running for Kansas State Representative for House District 101. Good luck, sir!
Jack Martin had called earlier from Hutch and said he'd meet us at the marina, and not long after we arrived Jack rolled up in his 2000 Nassau Blue Fixed Roof Coupe. Cool!
O'Brien's Marina is a great place to people-watch, especially on the 4th of July, and everyone in our group seemed to enjoy our visit immensely. We'll be back.
We hit some pretty significant rain on the drive from the lake up to South Hutch (during which time Denise and I discovered the T-tops on our new-old Corvette leak...heavy sigh...), but despite this we rolled into Steve & Laurie's only just a few minutes past our target time of 2 p.m.
Steve & Laurie sure know how to make a person feel welcome, and their place was packed with happy, smiling people (and TONS of great food!).
We hooked up with several more CKCA members at the BBQ, including Galen & Marilyn Seehafer, Karen Ukens, and Bill & Anita Barnhart.
Steve & Laurie, and everyone else in the club who participated in any manner today: Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
This was an unforgettable day in the wind in our Corvettes. Looking forward to the next one.
We could see dark, angry-looking weather bearing down from the west from our vantage point at Atwoods, and as we worked our way down Severance toward staging, we saw multiple massive lightning bolts, drawing ever closer to Hutch, arcing down from an ominous wall of inky-black clouds.
Within just a few moments of arriving at the Group 2 staging area on Avenue B, we made the command decision to abandon ship and flee to the safer confines of the First National Bank building parking garage – the storm was nearly upon us. Hail and lightning were our biggest concerns and it seemed prudent to QUICKLY stack the odds better in our favor.
The wind front on the leading edge of the storm slammed into us just as we were crossing Main on Sherman (I later heard reports of 70-mph winds recorded at the airport), and not more than a moment or two after we got stopped in the parking garage the sky collapsed around us, with lightning, thunder, wind and torrential sideways rain.
During the ensuing meteorological melee, John Neufeld called and said he and Darlene were, "stuck in Medora, waiting on a train" (which would make a great lyric in a country music song, I'm thinking). I asked him if it was raining there. "Oh, yeah!"
Cameron Brewer, driving his topless '64 Roadster today, had run home from Atwoods to wait out the rain, and Terry Dowers & Pam Shirley, driving their '06 Coupe sans Targa top today (so they could fit their lawn chairs in the back), had also headed back home to wait out the storm.
We intently studied the weather radar on Chuck Zimmerman's cell phone. I'm guessing we killed at least an hour hunkered down at the FNB parking garage before we felt it was prudent to head back to staging.
Unfortunately, the primo staging spot next to George Pyle Park we had staked out earlier was long gone by then, and we ended up wedged way down Walnut, next to the railroad tracks, stuck in the muck and the mire (another great lyric).
We made the most of it, however, and spirits were high. Chuck cheerfully made the rounds with a cleaning cloth, wiping off mud as necessary from the tires of the assembled Corvettes.
The parade itself was outstanding, and Eagle Media reported there were "over 140 entries, up more than 50 from last year." I mean, how often do you get a chance to help celebrate your nation's 250th birthday?!?
Lee Spence was chosen to lead our contingent of cool Corvettes in the parade, a worthy honor for the man who has faithfully guided our club for the past two years. Lee was joined by his grandchildren Eliza and Jameson, who were visiting from Olathe. Great kids!
I took lots of photos of parade-watchers this year as we rolled slowly up Main Street. Children, in particular, are fun to photograph. Adults usually don't care to have their photo taken (guilty...), but kids are generally fearless and enthusiastic when it comes to such things. We should probably all conduct ourselves more like children.
After we cleared the north end of the parade route (don't miss the photo in the gallery below of John Denney deploying his new C8's speed brakes for our left turn onto 12th!), Lee led us to the Pride of Kansas building at the Kansas State Fairgrounds for our traditional post-parade photo shoot.
After an enjoyable session of herding cats (thank you Amy Borecky for your help with the photos!), most of us were then off to Hutchinson Airport to begin the Drive & Dine portion of our day. Darwin & Nadine Henry made the trip down from Salina and rolled into the airport just moments after we arrived.
A benefit of this morning's storm was blessed relief from the heat – it's been an egg-baker of late. This morning was remarkably cool and pleasant after the weather rolled through, and the drive down to Cheney Lake this afternoon was refreshingly pleasant.
O'Brien's Marina is a great place for an extended pit stop, and they – owners Kevin & Stephanie O'Brien and their crew – were as thrilled to see us as we were to see them. Their store is immaculate, well stocked, and well staffed with friendly, cheerful people.
Unfortunately for the marina, all the rain we've had of late has brought Cheney Lake up to full pool (and probably then some), and three major campgrounds on the east side of the lake – M&M Point, Wichita Point and Heimerman Point – were closed this holiday weekend due to high water inundating the campgrounds.
These closures are a massive hit for a tourist-based business like O'Brien's, so we were happy to hang out and spend some money with them.
Kevin O'Brien – an affable man with an infectious laugh – introduced himself during our stop, and just had to come out and admire our lineup of Corvettes. During our visit we discovered that Kevin is currently running for Kansas State Representative for House District 101. Good luck, sir!
Jack Martin had called earlier from Hutch and said he'd meet us at the marina, and not long after we arrived Jack rolled up in his 2000 Nassau Blue Fixed Roof Coupe. Cool!
O'Brien's Marina is a great place to people-watch, especially on the 4th of July, and everyone in our group seemed to enjoy our visit immensely. We'll be back.
We hit some pretty significant rain on the drive from the lake up to South Hutch (during which time Denise and I discovered the T-tops on our new-old Corvette leak...heavy sigh...), but despite this we rolled into Steve & Laurie's only just a few minutes past our target time of 2 p.m.
Steve & Laurie sure know how to make a person feel welcome, and their place was packed with happy, smiling people (and TONS of great food!).
We hooked up with several more CKCA members at the BBQ, including Galen & Marilyn Seehafer, Karen Ukens, and Bill & Anita Barnhart.
Steve & Laurie, and everyone else in the club who participated in any manner today: Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
This was an unforgettable day in the wind in our Corvettes. Looking forward to the next one.
**********************************************************************************************
PS: Denise and I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Wayne & Marcia Strawder and Galen & Marilyn Seehafer for offering up their Corvettes today (!!!!!!!) so we'd be guaranteed to have a Corvette with functional air-conditioning at our disposal for today's festivities.
Our new-old '77 has factory air, but despite considerable technical help from Galen in the weeks leading up to today, we weren't sure if it'd actually still be blowing cold in time for the parade and Drive & Dine. I'm happy to report that our AC worked very well on Saturday. You don't truly realize what a blessing air conditioning is, here in the dog days of Kansas, until you don't have it.
There are still plenty of gremlins to evict in our Corvette (the poor thing had sat pretty much abandoned for a couple of decades before we rescued it last December), but bit by bit we're getting it dialed in.
Denise and I would like to publicly thank the Seehafers and Strawders for their friendship, help and support over the years. You folks are genuinely kind and incredible.
– G&DH
Our new-old '77 has factory air, but despite considerable technical help from Galen in the weeks leading up to today, we weren't sure if it'd actually still be blowing cold in time for the parade and Drive & Dine. I'm happy to report that our AC worked very well on Saturday. You don't truly realize what a blessing air conditioning is, here in the dog days of Kansas, until you don't have it.
There are still plenty of gremlins to evict in our Corvette (the poor thing had sat pretty much abandoned for a couple of decades before we rescued it last December), but bit by bit we're getting it dialed in.
Denise and I would like to publicly thank the Seehafers and Strawders for their friendship, help and support over the years. You folks are genuinely kind and incredible.
– G&DH
NOTE: Click on photos for larger versions and captions
– Photos and captions contributed by Gerald & Denise Haughton (except as noted)
Lee Spence, CKCA President, leads our contingent of Corvettes in the Patriots Parade, accompanied by his granddaughter Eliza and grandson Jameson
– Photo source: 'Eagle Media' Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CkWm4vFfS/
– Photo source: 'Eagle Media' Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CkWm4vFfS/
That's Zoe, our hairdresser, waving to us. Zoe works at the highly-rated Salt Salon down on Washington Street. Hey Zoe!
Gerald & Denise Haughton multitasking in their 1977 L-48 Coupe
– Photo source: 'Reno County, Kansas - Government' Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BtKT93xzv/
– Photo source: 'Reno County, Kansas - Government' Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BtKT93xzv/
– I took this pic at the same moment as the photo of Denise and I directly above. I believe the lady I highlighted with the blue arrow is the person who took our photo.
CKCA President Lee Spence and his grandkids Eliza and Jameson, who were visiting from Olathe, at the Pride of Kansas Building photo shoot at the Kansas State Fairgrounds after the parade
Cruising down the east side of Cheney State Park (Artist Rendition)
Left to right:
• Gerald & Denise Haughton – 1977 Classic White L-48 Coupe
• John & Kathy Denney – 2026 Blade Silver Metallic Stingray Convertible
• Chuck & Tammy Zimmerman – 2026 Torch Red Z06
• John & Darlene Neufeld – 2017 Grand Sport
• Wayne & Marcia Strawder – 1978 Stingray Coupe
• Darwin & Nadine Henry – 2011 Grand Sport Coupe
Left to right:
• Gerald & Denise Haughton – 1977 Classic White L-48 Coupe
• John & Kathy Denney – 2026 Blade Silver Metallic Stingray Convertible
• Chuck & Tammy Zimmerman – 2026 Torch Red Z06
• John & Darlene Neufeld – 2017 Grand Sport
• Wayne & Marcia Strawder – 1978 Stingray Coupe
• Darwin & Nadine Henry – 2011 Grand Sport Coupe
Kevin O'Brien, owner of O'Brien's Marina at Cheney Lake. Mr. O'Brien is currently running for Kansas State Representative for House District 101. Kevin and his wife Stephanie treated us like family during our visit.
O'Brien's Marina – Cheney State Park (Artist Rendition)
Left to right:
• Jack Martin – 2000 Nassau Blue Fixed Roof Coupe
• Darwin & Nadine Henry – 2011 Grand Sport Coupe
• Wayne & Marcia Strawder – 1978 Stingray Coupe
• John & Darlene Neufeld – 2017 Grand Sport
• Chuck & Tammy Zimmerman – 2026 Torch Red Z06
• John & Kathy Denney – 2026 Blade Silver Metallic Stingray Convertible
• Gerald & Denise Haughton – 1977 Classic White L-48 Coupe
Left to right:
• Jack Martin – 2000 Nassau Blue Fixed Roof Coupe
• Darwin & Nadine Henry – 2011 Grand Sport Coupe
• Wayne & Marcia Strawder – 1978 Stingray Coupe
• John & Darlene Neufeld – 2017 Grand Sport
• Chuck & Tammy Zimmerman – 2026 Torch Red Z06
• John & Kathy Denney – 2026 Blade Silver Metallic Stingray Convertible
• Gerald & Denise Haughton – 1977 Classic White L-48 Coupe
Mr. Steven Bernard, one of today's co-hosts, CKCA Founding Member and our club's first president.
Thank you Steve & Laurie (and everyone in our club who participated today) – y'all rock!!!
Thank you Steve & Laurie (and everyone in our club who participated today) – y'all rock!!!
Page last updated: 07/07/2026
© Central Kansas Corvette Association
Hutchinson, KS
© Central Kansas Corvette Association
Hutchinson, KS
