For Butch Grooms, he liked to help out others behind the scenes, especially through his beloved car “Junebug.”

The Ninth Annual Butch Grooms Memorial Car Show is scheduled for Friday, June 13 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Downtown Morristown. Proceeds will go to Stepping Out, Inc., a nonprofit where Butch’s widow, Lisa, serves on the board of directors.

Lisa said that response to this year’s show has been different.

“It seems like there is more excitement about it,” Lisa said. “We’ve secured four major sponsors, First People’s Bank, Gains Consulting, State Rep. Rick Eldridge and Soundtrax in Downtown Morristown.”

Lisa said that a decision whether to conduct the show will be made by lunch time on Friday.

Early registration is $20 with a $25 day-of-show rate. Proceeds will go toward Stepping Out, Inc., an organization where Lisa serves on the Board of Directors.

Lisa is keeping an eye on the weather. The forecast is calling for thunderstorms with a high of 86 degrees. She said that the show is a family affair. The family has been working to get “Junebug” ready for the show and Lisa said that the family members have “Junebug” looking good. Last year, “Junebug” participated in the show by being hauled to the site.

“When he passed, that show was one of the first things we talked about because he loved cars and he loved Junebug,” Lisa said. “We just thought that would be the best way to give back to the community because that was something he loved doing and to keep his memory going, not necessarily for other people, but for us.

The Butch Grooms Memorial Car Show is doing a great job in keeping Butch’s memory alive, Lisa said.

“He loved giving back to the community,” Lisa said. “He loved doing things and giving back and never taking credit for it. This is just a way of keep that spirit going.”

“Butch loved downtown, he did a lot of shows there,” Lisa said. “He worked with Crossroads partnership on shows and the Christmas Parade. We wanted to do it on a Friday night because you don’t have as much to compete with, it’ll be cooler and you won’t be there all day.”

From being an insurance agent with American General Life and Accident Insurance, to coaching girls’ softball and working on his beloved “Junebug,” Butch lived a full life before passing away on July 31, 2015 from Cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, and liver cancer.

By showing classic automobiles, family and friends will continue to honor Butch. After all, “Junebug” isn’t just a car, it’s part of the Grooms family.

“This event keeps it special for us because it keeps his memory alive and the show gives back to others,” Lisa said.

Butch was an insurance agent for many years and retired in 2014 from American General. He coached girls’ softball in parks and recreation, middle school in Jefferson County and also travel teams for many years. He was very active in the Hamblen County Car Club and Morristown Lions Club. He had been elected president of both organizations at the time of his passing on July 31, 2015.

Lisa talked about “Junebug,” a 1964 Chevrolet Bel Air that he had turned into an Impala. That was Butch’s pride and joy that is still driven on special occasions, when able.

“His first car was a 1964 Impala,” Lisa said. “When he got involved with the Hamblen County Car Club, he got to talking about wanting to find one to restore.”

The day Butch found a car to restore he was very excited.

“I’ll never forget the day he got it,” Lisa said. “He was acting like a little kid who got a toy at Walmart. Here sat this god-awful ugly pea green car sitting in the driveway and he was grinning from ear to ear. He proceeded to tell me what he was going to do to this car. I thought he had lost his mind.”

When Butch began work on the car, Lisa said that they became acquainted with FedEx and UPS because he discovered parts ordering on the Internet.

“Just about every day we were starting to get packages for the car,” Lisa said.

Like the Bel Air, Butch’s sister June was born in June, 1964. She passed away at age 42.

After her death, the car’s restoration took on a new purpose. Butch decided to name the car “Junebug” after his sister.

When it came to the colors for the car, he decided on blue and white for two reasons. “It’s meaningful because June’s favorite team was the Tennessee Titans and Butch coached softball for years for the Royals, whose colors were also blue and white.”

Disaster almost struck “Junebug” after he had it painted, Lisa recalled.

“He called me one Saturday and was practically in tears due to a fire under the hood,” Lisa said. “He was sitting on the side of the road near Walters State and he was waiting on the fire department. Luckily, there was only damage to the hood, so it was replaced. From that day forward, there is a fire extinguisher in the back of the car.”

The car became his pride and joy. A part of it was a reflection of himself.

Then in July, 2015, he got sick with cancer. He wanted the car to stay in the family, so he signed it over to Lisa.

Two weeks later, he passed away. “Junebug was at the funeral and followed him to the cemetery,” Lisa said.

This year’s show is the fourth year that the Grooms Family have partnered with Stepping Out, Inc.

“Stepping Out had talked about doing a car show, but I told them I had an established show and that if they wanted to use that show, that was fine. I’d work on getting the cars there and they could work on everything else.”

In helping Stepping Out, Inc., its programs don’t help only one person, but that person’s entire family, Lisa said.

“You’re helping that family get back together,” she said. “They’ve helped out so many over the years. We have expanded our borders a lot more. (Executive Director) Laura Moore is phenomenal. All of them there have a story.”

Trophies will be presented for various car awards. Twinz’ Main Squeeze will sell lemonade. At the same time, Lisa encourages participants and fans to support eateries located downtown. Hamblen County Car Club will donate use of its sound system for the event.

Door prizes will also be given at the event. The Hamblen County Substance Abuse Coalition’s “Hide and Seek” drug trailer will also be present, as will be the Morristown Fire Department’s “First Fire Truck.”

Anyone who wants their car considered for judging should be downtown by 6:30 p.m. Friday. Judging will begin at 6:45 p.m.

“The Hamblen County Car Club and the downtown merchants are really excited about this show. They have taken with me and we feel pretty good,” Lisa said. Members of other area car clubs are welcome to this show. We always good support from the Newport and Mossy Creek car clubs.”

“Me and the kids can do this show together as a family,” Lisa said. “Having Stepping Out involved is special because they’re special to me because basically, they gave me my life back. I want to give back to them and help them the way they helped me. You’ve got to want to be helped. It works; I’m a prime example of it.”

For more information, call Lisa Grooms at 423-258-4367 or Email Lgrooms8@gmail.com.