Behind the scenes with Coffee and Cars OKC

Organizers behind Oklahoma City's largest car meet-up say they are working to support causes that help those in need.

On Monday, the Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch met with the Coffee and Cars OKC founders to learn more.

Q: What is the message behind Coffee and Cars?

Sam Barnett: It's a family fun event where, you know, we grew up going to car shows and meets with our folks, and we like to extend that for our kids and our friends' families, and we just have a lot. It's a really good time. We'll see 2,000 to 3,000 cars, every car, from Hondas to exotics, race cars, old Model T's, you name it, it's out there.

Q: You guys all have a love for cars in common, but do you also have something else?

A: Everybody here has a tie in to the military. We always want to say thanks to the people who are serving now, who have served, who are going to serve, and the ultimate were the ones who paid the price for us to do what we love to do.

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about what the reaction is when people come out to this event?

Robert Bombach: A lot of people in Oklahoma City don't know we're out there the first Saturday every single month. This is going on our 14th year in Oklahoma City. Like Sam was saying, we see cars from T-buckets to race cars to Jeeps. We've had a large motorcycle crowd come to show up, but the crowd reaction is just in awe. It is a very massive event. We keep getting bigger, and with Coffee and Cars, we have our main partner, which is Chevy, and they've done a really good job supporting our event, as well as our other local businesses.

Q: Can you talk about giving back to the community, too?

Michael Boyd: We're involved with a lot of different charities. Gavin Blacks charity is a big one, he's an Edmon North High School student who passed away in a motorcycle accident. His father just retired from the military as an A-10 Warthog pilot, and they give away a scholarship for a full aviation pilot's license every year. In fact, one of our owners here, his son was a recipient of such scholarship. [We're] also involved in several different military, non-profits. Another local profit, Exotics for Kids, amazing, Warriors for Freedom. Anything we can do to be involved with the community. We even have one of the local animal shelters out here supporting with that

Q: If you want to come out, it's this Saturday. What do we need to know before we come out?

Robert Bombach: If you are here by 7 a.m., you're late. Michael and I get there, as well as other partners, get there at 5:30 a.m. We have a big crowd that rolls in about 7 a.m., so from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., we will be out there. Rain or shine.

To learn more about Saturday's event, visit the Coffee and Cars OKC website.