Photos by Laurel Ouellette, Vincente Pierre, and The Author
Bumblebees for Justin was a benefit car show for a young man named Justin Rodriquez. Justin is battling Glioblastoma (a form of cancer affecting his brain), and was given a tough diagnosis. A “Bucket List” was made, and it found its way to Joslyn Wood, from there it exploded.
Since then, him and his family with the help of close friends and their community have been checking off experiences and events on the list . Things like Christmas, a birthday party, get a tattoo, and eat at a couple of his favorite restaurants are on the list, as are many others. Meeting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is on the list as well, and as of this writing he hasn’t met him in person, however The Rock did give Justin a shout out on his Instagram page that has over 8.7 million views! As you might have guessed by now, riding in and if possible, driving a Bumblebee Camaro was on the list. Bryan Morgan took this idea and put together a benefit car show, with a special invite to any yellow and black “Bumblebee” Camaros.
Entries from all across Oklahoma, and a few from out-of-state made the journey to McKenzie’s Old Fashion Burger Garage in Lawton Oklahoma to show their support. Bumblebee Camaros were well represented with models ranging from V6’s and SS’s, to a couple of higher power versions like a ZL1 and number 005 SLP ZL575. Any show named after a “Robot in Disguise” wouldn’t be complete without a Transformers Edition Camaro. As luck would have it, one made its way from the Tulsa area to be a part of the show.
An interesting entry was Brian Ouellette and his Bumblebee Camaro SS. Brian made the trip to Lawton with his daughter Laurel and his grandkids Jackson and Peyton. Brain lost his wife Dorothy to lung and brain cancer in 2016. Dorothy loved her family and her Camaro and would take them to shows and events. When Brain heard about Justin, he knew he had to bring Dorothy’s Camaro to the event.
Brain and his family were so touched by Justin and the event, they brought one of Dorothy’s favorite hats and gave it to Justin at the show. From Laurel, “My mom basically lived for her family, and her Camaro, and that is why we came to the show.
We want to keep her memory alive, but we also want to give back because that’s what she would have done. That is one of the reasons why we gave Justin her hat. She loved that hat, but she would have given it to him in a heartbeat because that’s the type of person she was. We didn’t realize it at the time but I think it was a healing moment for us.”
Late model cars and trucks were plentiful. From the aforementioned Camaros, to diesel trucks, to the themed vehicles of C3 Car Club. Which included Spideman, Batman, and Harley Quinn to name a few.
Classics were well represented as well. One such entry was Richard Taylor with his 455 powered 1970 Buick Skylark GS Stage 1. This car has been in his family since new, and is the car he used to get his driver’s license. A bright red 1956 Ford F100 owned by Addison Augusta sported a Ford 4.6L V8, and looked tough sitting low on RideTech air ride suspension. Another classic was the smooth sloping 1949 Ford
Many have come together for events over the past few weeks in support of Justin, and Bumblebees For Justin was a successful addition to the his bucket list. He enjoyed the show, and with more events to come, is still finding ways to involve others and give back as much as he can. If you would like to follow Justin in his journey to “Kill Bill” (He named his tumor bill), he can be found on Facebook by searching “Hope for Justin.”
At just 5-years old, it was an ’85 IROC-Z Camaro that ignited the fuel that sparked the life-long passion of GM hardware for Michael. Being a huge fan of late-model muscle in general, the LS-powered 4th-generation Firebirds truly capture Michael’s heart.
