Amigos behind ABQ luxury car show focusing on workforce development, jobs
“Concours du Soleil” Car Show and Gala focuses on workforce development and job creation
Story by Marissa Higdon.
In 2004, Jerry Roehl, head of Roehl Law Firm, and Steve Maestas, CEO of Maestas Development Group, attended a charity car show outside of the state. While the two were admiring a vintage Ferrari, they started talking about how much money the event was probably raising for nonprofits.
A few years later, Roehl, Maestas and three other local business leaders, dubbed the “Cinco Amigos,” brought the concept to Albuquerque in the form of the Concours du Soleil Car Show and Gala.
“We thought it was a good idea to help the community,” said Roehl.
Maestas added: “And you get to check out cool cars, too.”
The Cinco Amigos originally partnered with Carrie Tingley Hospital, but, since 2008, the group has worked with the Albuquerque Community Foundation, which won Albuquerque’s 2015 Nonprofit of the Year award in the Foundation category.
The event will be held at Roehl’s home in the North Valley on Sept. 17. There’s a black-tie dinner where guests can view the cars and enjoy an evening of food and music. Tickets cost $250. The next day there’s a public car show, where guests, who pay $20 at the gate, can see the vehicles, eat some food and find out which cars won in their respective categories. This year, there will be over 88 cars at the event.
“People love to bring their cars and show them off,” Roehl said. “Some people see it as an honor to have their car in the show.”
Roehl says, to get into the show, cars must get approved, and they do turn down some entries. Roehl said Concours du Soleil is the only formal, judged car show in the state.
Since the founding of the event, the members of the Cinco Amigos has changed, only Roehl and Maestas are part of the original cohort. Sill, Maestas says they always try to keep five business leaders involved with the event, although, he jokes, when they only had three members they still called themselves the Cinco Amigos.
Now, Roehl and Maestas are joined by Mark Gorham, head of Lorelei Investments; Kevin Yearout, CEO of Yearout Mechanical Inc. and Jason Harrington, CEO of HB Construction.
All three of the newer amigos said they had attended the event before joining and are proud to be a part of it.
“We do business all day long, what’s fun about the event is the opportunity to to put that away,” said Harrington. “It’s a fun way to make an impact.”
The Cinco Amigos cover the core costs of the event to ensure that it’s profitable for the charity groups who are receiving money. Every year, half of the funds raised go to charity groups chosen by the amigos and the foundation and the other half goes into a permanent fund at the Albuquerque Community Foundation. The idea is to create a long-lasting source of revenue for philanthropic ventures in the state. Last year, the show raised around $200,000 for charity.
This year, the focus for the show is workforce development and job creation, so groups supporting those issues will receive money from the event.
“We think creating jobs and enhancing skills has the biggest impact on our community,” Maestas said. “You empower people to change their lives instead of assisting them with a one-time gift. There’s a deeper impact to the community when someone can sustain their life because they have a skill set.”
Harrington says the focus is a result of thinking far into the future.
“We run our business thinking about long-term strategy,” he said. “Our philanthropic ventures are the same way.”
The presenting sponsor for the event is U.S. Eagle Federal Credit Union, and the group has also been working closely with the mayor’s office. There are 400 gala tickets available, which can be purchased through the Albuquerque Community Foundation.