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Hudsonville cruise honors first responders during COVID-19 pandemic

What was supposed to be a car show turned into a cruise around Hudsonville because of concerns about the virus.

HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — More than 225 cars circled neighborhoods in Hudsonville Tuesday as part of an event honoring first responders who have been on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is our first ever quarantine car cruise and we wanted to do it because tonight was supposed to be our Gemmens car show. And because of COVID, we wanted to make sure that everyone stayed healthy and safe," said event coordinator Courtney Sleeman.

Michigan State Police, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, and Shields of Hope led the cruise, which started at the Pinnacle Center.

"We know that our first responders have put everything on the line to keep our country safe, and we wanted to something special where we could turn what we were going to do into honoring them and letting them go first in our cruise this year," Sleeman said.

"It makes my heart happy. It makes all of us really happy to know that we're able to do that for them."

People who live along the route were encouraged to watch the cruise and decorate their homes.

Sleeman says she works with an incredible team at Auto Body Xperts, which was able to pivot when the pandemic hit and turn the car show into an event people could safely participate in.

"Making that decision was huge but we were so glad to be able to pull it off and to have such an incredible turnout," she said.

The event was sponsored by Gemmens Ace Hardware and Dykstra's Auto. Other partners included Shields of Hope and Christian radio station JQ99.

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