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| Kim and Chuck Sheldon |
Why do Kim and Chuck Sheldon own a sports car that can top 180 mph? The answer is stamped on their vanity license plate...
kidzrgne
When the Sheldons bid their six grown children adieu and good luck a few years ago, they added some vavoom to their lives by buying a Corvette at a Carlisle, Pa. auto show.
"We’d raised our kids and just felt like we needed a life," recalled Kim, who grew up in a family that loved jazzed-up cars. Ditto for Chuck. "We’d been to the Carlisle show a few times before and I told my husband, ‘Bring some money with you because I told everybody at work that I’m coming home with a Corvette.’ That’s how it all started."
That first Corvette buy was a bit of a bummer. Its engine blew up while they were driving it home. Undeterred after getting a total refund, the Sheldons quickly found another Corvette to replace it – a 1989 dark metallic red convertible. Since then, they’ve been hooked, subsequently owning 2003 and 2007 models.
The Sheldons lead double lives. By day, Kim drives an unassuming Toyota Avalon to Roper Hospital, where she’s head of the case management department. Back home on Daniel Island, Chuck toodles to his local real estate job on his banana-colored golf cart.
But evenings and weekends are an entirely different matter.
That’s when their garage door opens, the Sheldons emerge in a growling 2007 Chevrolet Corvette convertible, turn onto Blakeway Street and rumble off to destinations and adventures unknown.
They’ve also made hundreds of fast friends through Corvette club memberships in Annapolis, Md. and in Charleston since moving here four years ago. The Chevy Corvette, called America’s only true sports car, has captured the imaginations of car aficionados for more than a half-century. The local Coastal Carolina Corvette Club currently has 171 members and 121 Corvettes that hail primarily from the greater Charleston area. The Sheldons are both officeholders and active in the club’s charity fundraisers and special events.
On April 19, the club will hold an all-Corvette show at the Tanger Outlet Mall in North Charleston. Proceeds will be donated to the National Corvette Museum The club’s 9th annual "Street Thunder" show will be held Oct. 18 at Tanger Outlet. This show, which features cars, trucks and motorcycles, raised $8,000 for Lowcountry Orphan Relief last year. The non-profit will be the recipient again this year.
"Yes, we have a lot of fun and travel a lot, but a big part of our focus is on giving back to the community," Chuck said. "That’s our real mission."
The impulse to help others became intensely personal two years ago when the Sheldons traveled to Ohio to visit Kim’s 49-year-old brother, Les Vesey, who was dying of pancreatic cancer.
"Les always said, ‘I’m going to be just like you guys. I’m going to get a Vette and have fun," Kim said.
During their visit, Chuck went to a local Chevrolet dealership and told them that his brother-in-law had always dreamed of riding in a Corvette. The car dealer agreed and Les’ hospice procured an ambulance to transport him to the dealership.
"He had oxygen and a morphine drip," Kim said. "... But we got him into the car and off they went. They were gone about 20 to 25 minutes and when they came back my brother’s oxygen mask was pushed off to the side of his face. I asked him, ‘How fast did you go?’ and he said, ‘Over 100.’"
After Les died two weeks later, the Coastal Carolina Corvette Club made a donation to his son’s high school wrestling program in honor of his father.
"That’s what’s wonderful about our club members," Kim said. "If something catastrophic happens in your family or you’re in need, they step up to help. They’re like family."
