Local Group Uses Love For Cars to Help Community

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Take even an abbreviated glance through the Cruise Centralia Facebook page and the group’s motto is seen in plain view. 

“Come one, come all.” 

It’s what group founder Steve Kopa says the group has stressed since it started a couple of months ago. While the group boasts its fair share of restored and retro vehicles likely to turn a few heads, member Kimberly Neilsen said having a car that might contend at a car show isn’t a requirement to join the cruise. 

“You can bring your minivan down and cruise with us, if you want to,” Neilsen said. “It doesn’t matter what you’re cruising in, it’s all about the cruise.” 

According to the group’s Facebook page, Cruise Centralia is described as a group of car enthusiasts “with interests in cruising, meet and greets, shows and hanging out in Centralia on Saturday nights.” 

As Kopa described it, he and five or six of his friends decided to meet up in downtown Centralia one night to cruise around in their cars around the same time measures were starting to be taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a way him and his friends could still have some fun while maintaining adequate social distance. 

A Facebook group for Centralia Cruise was created on May 24. As of Monday morning, 2,675 people have joined.  

“It just kind of escalated from there,” Kopa said. “We started inviting more people, everybody was pretty receptive to it.” 

Last Friday, Kopa and the Centralia Cruise group met up at what is now their normal meeting spot, a parking lot in Downtown Centralia that is now affectionately referred to as “The Nuke” — short for nucleus — to cruise past Sharon Care Center while residents came out on the sidewalk to watch the convoy. 

By Kopa’s estimation, roughly 115 people drove past the center. 



“We drove by and honked and waved and yelled,” Kopa said. “They just loved it … I was really surprised at the turnout, too. It was nuts.” 

Following the cruise, the convoy then stopped for food at Big T BBQ in Centralia, where the participants ate, enjoyed each other’s company and helped a local business. According to Neilsen, stopping at other local restaurants following group events is something she hopes to see more of. 

“I love what we did last weekend and I hope we do more of this for other businesses,” Neilsen said. “I know we’ve had other small businesses that have called us and asked if we would consider doing the same thing that we did for Sharon Care and Big T’s for them. I think this has the possibility to expand and become something really great for the community.” 

For Kopa, his participation in the group and all it’s been able to accomplish to this point has been rewarding. 

“I’m kind of retired now and I’m finding out that all of these years, I’ve worked for money,” Kopa said. “Now, I’m doing something that doesn’t really involve money and it makes me feel the best.” 

The group also orchestrated a birthday cruise for a child in Centralia on Monday and on June 13, Cruise Centralia is hosting a graduation cruise for the Class of 2020. The group also meets at the Nuke, at 4 p.m. every Saturday, to cruise.  

Kopa said anyone who wants to participate is welcome to join the group.

“We needed something,” Neilsen said. “We’ve been separated for so long that we all needed something. So far, this group has been amazing. Really good people and great turnouts every week.”