The Wabash Valley Jeep Junkies are planning to go topless (in their Wranglers) to raise funds for a breast cancer charity and honor its co-founder.
Go Topless Day is Saturday, May 20 and the Wabash Valley Jeep Junkies are going to do just that.
They won’t be doing it just to have fun or work on their tans, though. They’ll be doing it to raise money for charity.
As part of the Go Topless Scavenger Hunt for PINK, Jeep owners will drive their rigs – tops down, of course – through parts of southwestern Indiana, stopping at local eateries and pubs along the way. According to the Facebook page for the event, “The proceeds [of each $35 entry fee] will go entirely to PINK of Terre Haute,” a Wabash Valley breast cancer charity co-founded by Amy Bagnoche and Dr. Darren Brucken. They started the PINK (Passion, Initiative, Need, Knowledge) non-profit organization to offer financial and emotional support to those suffering from breast cancer and their families.
Bagnoche succumbed to the disease in 2016. Fortunately, by the time of her passing, PINK had benefited more than 100 Wabash Valley breast cancer patients and their families. Mike Latta, a Wabash Valley Jeep Junkie and organizer of the scavenger hunt, said, “We decided we could have a good time with it and set it up. So I reached out to Rick Bagnoche, Amy’s husband, and Darren Brucken and we said we’d like to do this for PINK and basically let all the money go to PINK of Terre Haute. They were both on board. … We all thought this would be a chance to go out there and do something in Amy’s honor.”
If you happen to be near Terre Haute, Indiana and want to find out more about participating in or contributing to the Go Topless Scavenger Hunt for PINK, you can call Latta at 812-870-1529 or go to the Wabash Valley Jeep Junkies Facebook page.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
