To the editor:

This past May, the Lawrence Region AACA hosted its 43rd annual swap meet. While we appreciate the coverage of a small picture of a vendor, there is much more to holding this swap meet.

We are a small but dedicated car club that puts a lot of work into the swap meet. We would like everyone to know how this benefits the community. The meet brings in 600 to 700 vendors. We had more than 8,000 visitors. We donate to 4-H clubs to hold concessions and to clean up the grounds. We use a Boy Scout troop to help direct parking. We use other car clubs to help vendors find their spots and for security. One club uses all its earnings to adopt families at Christmas. We donate to the auto tech program at McPherson College. We sponsor a photography award at fair time.

We also generously donate to Douglas County Visiting Nurses Assn., Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels and Watkins Museum. We are business partners with the auto tech classes at the high schools. We help them buy their club jackets. We sponsor two scholarships each year to students to attend an auto tech program. We have given $5,000 each of the last two years for gas so they can compete in the Great Race.

A lot of hard work goes into holding a meet of this caliber. We thank the Lawrence community for supporting the swap meet and wanted you to know how it benefits our community.

Freda Geyer,

Joe Arneson,

Lawrence