The Corvette Club of Rhode Island had such a successful food drive, a truck from the Rhode Island Community Food Bank had to make an early pickup in July.

The food drive was supposed to finish on Aug. 9, lining up with the club’s 45th annual Corvettes by the Sea car show, but donations had begun to overflow in Liliana Dolan’s offices at Express Employment on Jefferson Boulevard.

The drive began in May, and by July the club had collected 1,727 pounds of dry goods and non-perishables. Despite the pickup, members continued to collect and part of the entrance fee for Corvettes by the Sea was a canned good. In the month between the two events, the Corvette Club was able to donate over an additional 1,000 pounds of food, bringing the grand total to 3,121 pounds.

Not only was the food drive a complete success but the Corvettes by Sea car show was as well, with more than 200 corvette entries from within the state and across the region, 13 vendors and nearly 60 organizations and businesses that donated services and goods to the event.

“It was like a carnival of a car show,” Dolan said. “The gestures and donations from members, vendors and participants were amazing. It was a cloudy day, but that didn’t stop anyone.”

The club gave out 20 awards at the ceremony – two awards per each of the seven corvette “generations,” one for the longest distance traveled for the event (173 miles), as well as best engine, best interior, the president’s pick, and the overall show winner, which was a blue 1959 corvette convertible. An award was even given to Paul Masse for his sponsorship of the club. He brought 24 of the cars from his dealership to put on display for the show.

The Rhode Island Food Bank wasn’t the only beneficiary of the club’s charity from Corvettes by the Sea, which was on Aug. 9 at Marina Park in South Kingstown. The 50/50 raffle raised nearly $2,500, with half of it going to the Bristol Veterans Home.

There was some apprehension going into the event after the individuals who usually put the show together dropped off last minute, leaving rookies Dolan, treasurer Scott Henderson, show director and president Jim Campanini and vice president Ray Tudino to put everything together.

All parties agreed that, despite the situation, this was one of the best shows the club has put on. Dolan said everyone worked hard to see the show do well, but “kudos should go to our club members.”

There was much work done behind the scenes, from mapping out the area to getting permits, and the success of the show goes to the “hard work and diligence” of the club.

“We are more than a club, we are a family,” Dolan said. “When anyone needs the support we are there.”

Henderson, Campanini and Tudino said that now it is time for the club to relax and get back to being members.

The club will only relax for a short time though, because through October and November the Corvette Club will be hosting a toy drive for Toys for Tots. For years, longtime member Jerry Picozzi has been collecting toys from members, but the hope is to make this year bigger and better.

If you are interested in donating, contact Picozzi at 639-6229 or email Dolan at ccofri@gmail.com.

For more information on the Corvette Club, visit www.corvetteclubofrhodeisland.com or “like” their Facebook page.