Submitted photo
Veteran Dan Bishop is pictured on one of the fishing trips he organized.

MILROY — Dan Bishop was out driving around when a GMC pick-up truck caught his eye.

“I was never into muscle cars,” the Reedsville man explained. “I saw this beat-up pick-up truck and it kind of caught my eye. Cars don’t always have to be new or fancy. It was something that I liked.”

Bishop spoke to the owner about his truck — which was practically original — and got the idea to organize a car show. Proceeds will benefit his non-profit organization, Peaceful Mind Veterans Adventures, which provides therapeutic outdoor activities for area veterans.

Bishop, now age 50, served in the United States Army National Guard, retiring medically as a staff sergeant after 22 years. He was active for 14 years in the guard reserve.

The inaugural event is slated for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 20, at Auto Auction Drive, Milroy, which is located across from Rutter’s Convenience Store.

After years of service in the military, Bishop, a disabled veteran, has devoted the next chapter of his life to helping other veterans gain peace of mind.

It’s one of the reasons why Bishop started the non-profit organization. He participated with veterans in group therapy at the James E. Van Zandt Veterans Affairs Medical Center in State College. Typically, the weekly meetings had about 6 to 10 veterans, but Bishop was determined to do more.

“The first hour was instructional,” he recalled. “The counselor provided us with different means of dealing with our PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) issues and coping with them.

The second hour we would just go around the table and talk about how we were doing, and the other vets could chime in and say how they dealt with their issues.”

To keep the veterans active, Bishop would organize hunting and fishing trips, driving all-terrain vehicles or simply take the group out to lunch. “I was using my own funds and donations from family and friends to do this,” said Bishop, who eventually decided to form the non-profit for assistance.

“This is just a way of honoring our veterans locally – from any branch, any era,” he explained. “I’d like to do more with veterans. We’re hoping to have a variety of cars.”

If successful, Bishop hopes the event could rival more established car shows, like the one in Carlisle. For the first show, he’s hoping to have 20 to 25 vehicles.

“Two hundred-fifty would be great,” he joked. “The first year is always the hardest. There are other car shows out there. We’re just hoping to have a good turnout for the first one. Next year, we’ll worry about making it bigger.”

Bishop is hoping to reach out to the Pennsylvania National Guard to see if any military vehicles can be displayed at the show.

Trophies will be awarded to the top two finishers in different categories. The registration fee is $20.

Food from Chef K, ice cream and a Chinese auction will also be available.

For information, call (717) 953-5543 or (717) 363-0053.