Son honors father at Brent Reese Memorial Car Show

MOSES LAKE – Brent Reese likes vehicles that have some power, his son said. Of course he had cars, Jeremy Reese said, but he didn’t have to have four wheels. A motorcycle, a boat – it didn’t matter.

“He always had something that could go fast in his garage,” Jeremy Reese said. “It was a big speed bump.”

Brent Reese died in December 2020 after a seven-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeremy Reese said he felt there wasn’t really a chance to give him a proper tribute. He plans to do that now, he said.

The first Brent Reese Memorial Car Show is set for June 15 from 3 to 9 p.m. at Scotty’s Auto Repair, 1450 East Wheeler Road. Brent Reese’s birthday was June 14, his son said.

“I’m finally in a position in my life to honor him in the big way I’ve always wanted,” Jeremy Reese wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald.

The best way to do it, he said, seemed to be with a car show. Cars were something they shared.

“He raised me,” Jeremy said. “I like.”

Brent Reese has lived most of his life in Moses Lake and served on the Moses Lake City Council for 13 years. He worked at Moses Lake Industries for more than three decades. He loved his city and, according to his obituary, kissed the ground when he arrived home after his service in the US Air Force.

Brent Reese has donated regularly to the ALS Foundation and the Team Gleason Foundation, and a portion of the proceeds from the car show will be donated to those organizations. Jeremy Reese said attendees will have the opportunity to donate directly to the Gleason Foundation.

Steve Gleason was a National Football League veteran who was diagnosed with ALS in 2011, according to the Gleason Foundation website.

Jeremy Reese said the ALS Foundation is working on research to alleviate and find a cure for the disease. The Gleason Foundation focuses on people with ALS.

“They do a lot of work helping families directly,” he said.

It is a cruel disease.

“It basically disconnects your brain from your body,” Jeremy Reese said.

Brent Reese never gave up, his son said, despite the hardships.

Of course, people will have the opportunity to look at great cars at the show, but Jeremy Reese said there will be a lot more going on. Moses Lake Taproom will host an indoor beer garden with 20 percent of its proceeds donated to the cause. Blacky’s Smokin’ Sweet Grill, Othello, and Eastern Washington Corndog Company, Othello, will sell food and donate 10 percent of their proceeds, Jeremy Reese said.

There will be a mini petting zoo and Dale Roth will be the DJ.

“(Scotty’s) has four acres. We’re going to use a lot of her,” Jeremy Reese said.

And of course the cool cars. These will include a 1973 Chevrolet Camaro owned by Brett Reese that was passed down to his son.

“That’s going to be the main attraction,” Jeremy said.

He hopes to make the car show an annual event, he said, the bigger the merrier, and eventually raise enough money to start a foundation to help other families with ALS, in honor of his father.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached by email at [email protected].

Brent Reese has battled amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for seven years. “No white flags” is the motto of the Steve Gleason Foundation, which provides support to families affected by ALS.

Brent Reese worked to stay positive even as he battled ALS, his son said.

Brent Reese with his motorcycle and boat. He liked fast moving vehicles.