Custom Collision car give away kicks off Festival Days

A local auto repair shop is expanding its car giveaway again this year, with Custom Collision Repair coordinating presentation of three vehicles to people in need during Havre's Festival Days, with other members of the community donating two to the effort.

"It's about giving back to the community," said Chris Preputin, owner of Custom Collision.

Four years ago, Preputin started fixing up a vehicle each year to give to someone. Applicants are asked to write a short essay about why they need a car and a panel of judges chooses the person to receive the vehicle.

Last year, he upped the giveaway, with two refurbished vehicles awarded.

This year, the event is giving away three: a 2000 Chevrolet Impala, a 1998 Dodge Caravan and a 1994 Pontiac Bonneville.

The Dodge Caravan was donated by Craig Tilleman of Tilleman Motor Co. and the Pontiac Bonneville was donated by Lisa O'Neil, he added.

In addition to donating the vehicle, Tilleman Motor also donated work in repairing the Caravan and is allowing Custom Collision to show the vehicle at their business.

Custom Collision is accepting applications for this year's giveaway. Applicants will have to fill out an application and include a short essay about why they need a car and turn it in to Custom Collision, Preputin said. Every year, the previous year's judges select three members of the community to judge the applications, he said. He added that anyone in the community can be a judge.

Preputin said the judges do a lot of hard, diligent work, reading through every application to select the winner, taking time out of their own lives to do the job.

"The judges have an impossible task of judging the essays," Preputin said.

He added that people who are interested in the vehicle giveaway should turn in their applications sooner rather than later.

In the past they have had more than 300 applications, he said.

He started this to be able to give back to the community.

"I searched for something I could do and I came across that I work on cars," Preputin said.

They find older cars that need some work, he said, then get them fixed up so people can use them.

Preputin said these cars are for people who have fallen on tough times, maybe don't have the finances or the ability to purchase a car.

"As I go, I really want to turn this not into a Custom Collision Repair event, I really would like it to turn into a Havre community event," he said.

Preputin said he also wanted to thank the sponsors for the event this year, Lisa and Jayce O'Neil, Tilleman Motor, Montana Carpet Care, Dave and Judy Greenwood, John Kuhn, Hi-Line  Cruz'n Association, Chuck Salerno, Robert Nieuwenhuyse and Leon's Buy & Sell.

He said he also wanted to thank the sponsors for last year's event, Melissa Kapperud, Emily Kallenberger and Karla Geda.

He added that next year he has hopes of having four cars for the event, and eventually to give away 10 vehicles.

Small communities like Havre, Preputin said, literally have each other's backs, adding that people in the area always needs a vehicle, and he is happy to get the community involved.

"What's so good about small communities, that you never get in the big cities, is we all help each other," he said.