Franklin High School is holding its first student-led car show fundraiser Saturday, October 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with organizers hoping more than 200 vehicles will roll onto campus to raise money for the school’s automotive program and honor the teacher who helped build the program from the ground up. Community members can enter their own cars for $20, with the entry fee going toward new tools and equipment for the shop.
The event, held at Franklin High’s campus on Hillsboro Road, is being billed as the school’s first student-led event of its kind, according to williamsonsource.com. It will run cash-only, per the same outlet, and feature the car show alongside a silent auction. Attendees will get to vote on the entries, and organizers are hoping to draw a crowd big enough to fill the lot with more than 200 cars, according to WSMV.
A Senior’s Tribute to the Teacher Who Built the Shop
The fundraiser was organized by Jonathan Stinson, a Franklin High senior, who told WSMV he wanted to both honor former teacher Terry Lancaster and make real improvements to the automotive shop. Lancaster, remembered as the school’s first automotive teacher, helped build Franklin High’s automotive program from the ground up before he died in 2019, according to WSMV. Stinson said the fundraiser aims to make the program nicer while keeping Lancaster’s legacy alive.
Lancaster, of Spring Hill, died January 16, 2019, at age 71, according to his obituary from Williamson Memorial Funeral Home & Cremation Services. He was a retired Auto Body teacher at Franklin High School, the obituary states. Stinson hopes the fundraiser’s proceeds will help add a new lift on the opposite side of the shop, and he plans to knock down a wall to install an AC refrigerant re-cooling line, according to WSMV.
An Alumnus Remembers a Shop Without Lifts or AC
CJ Lyons, a Franklin High alumnus from the Class of 1995, told WSMV the automotive shop has changed significantly since his student years, when it lacked lifts and air conditioning. Lyons described Lancaster as his dad and best friend in one, according to WSMV. Williamson Memorial’s obituary for Lancaster lists a C.J. Lyons among the active pallbearers at his funeral in January 2019.
Lyons said he plans to continue supporting the automotive program and told WSMV he would help raise money for the students. All proceeds from Saturday’s event will benefit the Franklin High auto shop program, according to williamsonsource.com, which also confirms the school is located at 810 Hillsboro Road in Franklin, Tennessee.
