The 6th Annual

Cars at Kiawah River

Saturday October 14, 2023

Kiawah River, Johns Island, SC

Overview   |   Food & Drink   |   Vendors   |   Sponsors   |   Ocean Park

Cars at Kiawah River is hosted by the Kiawah Island Motoring Retreat, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. An annual donation of event proceeds is made to the Barrier Islands Free Medical Center (BIFMC).

BIFMC provides free medical care for low income, uninsured adults who live or work on Johns, James or Wadmalaw Island.

Past Events

HONORARY co-CHAIR

John Darby was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended The Citadel - The Military College of South Carolina. After graduating in 1985 he began working for the First Union Mortgage Corporation. In 1990 John joined The Beach Company and in 1999 was named the President and CEO. The Beach Company, www.thebeachcompany.com , is involved with the development, acquisition, and management of commercial and residential properties throughout the Southeast. He is acting Managing Director for Kiawah River and is also a resident of the community.

John has served as a board director for non-profit, corporate, and educational organizations, such as The Citadel Foundation, Trident CEO Council, Palmetto Business Forum, and East Cooper Land Trust Advisory Council, among others. In addition, he currenlty serves as Co-Chair of the Mother Emanuel Memorial Foundation. He and his wife, Georgia, have three children and two grandsons.

honorary co-chair

Lee Burton was born and raised in a small town in South Georgia and spent the majority of her life in various parts of that wonderful state. She played on the golf team at the University of Georgia and spent the next 20 years actively playing tournament golf as an amateur and competed in 15 USGA Championships. She was twice named Female Player of the Year in Georgia. Lee took a 20 year break from competitive golf and focused on becoming a top amateur dressage rider.

Lee managed a group of 10 private golf clubs in the Atlanta area. She moved to Kiawah at the beginning of 2000 and is thoroughly enjoying being back in the golf world and especially enjoys the incredible golf courses and lady golfers that the Kiawah Golf Club offers. She has a son and a daughter and three beautiful granddaughters and one brand new grandson.

Lee has always loved older model Jeeps and Broncos. Two years ago she finally purchased her dream ride of a 1976 Bronco. She totally restored it to a baby blue beauty, which she will proudly be displaying at Cars at Kiawah River. She also now happily resides at Kiawah River.

chief judge

Automotive Historian Harvey Geiger. Having published over 200 articles, Harvey is nationally recognized as an authority on automotive history and car culture. In addition to serving as a judge at major concours shows, Harvey has been an enrichment speaker on Oceana and SilverSea cruise lines and at numerous automotive museums and car clubs. Harvey is the recipient of the Fahnstock Award by the Classic Car Club of America and the Lee Iacocca Award in recognition of his contributions to American automotive heritage.

FEATURED COLLECTOR

Our Featured Collector display for 2023 is from Natalie and Scott Bluestein.  This will be another eclectic display of interesting rolling art from a long time Lowcountry enthusiast and collector.

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

Local television personality, Tom Crawford, will be serving as our Master of Ceremonies. He is a member of the Meteorological Society and has been recognized as South Carolina’s Best Weathercaster by the Associated Press. He is a host of ABC News 4’s popular morning show, Lowcountry Live.

Tom is a Vietnam era and Persian Gulf veteran and served 33 years in the Air Force Reserves. He is well known as the best auctioneer in the region.  Among his many hobbies, Tom is a classic car enthusiast.

Cars at Kiawah River Committee

Bruce Stemerman - Co-Chair
John Wilson - Co-Chair
Lauren Binard
Irene Breland
Millie Horton
Tracey Hutchins
Dave Rosato
Tony Willard