Johnny Patke, owner of Parts Unlimited in Pearland is no stanger to charity events. He can often be found bidding on high dollar items at various charity auctions, but on April 28, 2012, Johnny put his body on the line to help a Waller County charity raise money. Parts Unlimited brought two cars and a truck to the White Dove of Hope Demolition Derby at the Chad Treichel Memorial Arena in the Field Store community.
Johnny drove car number 36 to a third place finish and had the crowd on their feet cheering as he drove the almost totally destroyed car out of the arena. His partner Chris Budzisz made a good showing driving car number 44 and truck number 44. Johnny and Chris are descendants of some of the early Polish immigrants who settled in Bremond Texas. Waller County resident David Tomczak drove car number 35 in the derby.
The Waller Demolition Derby is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the non-profit charity, White Dove of Hope. The mission of White Dove is to come together as friends to raise funds to help those in our communities during times of crisis in their lives.
Below are a few photos of the fun and there is a slideshow of more photos on page 2. There is a video in the Polish Texans Video section or you can see more videos on our YouTube Channel.
James Smock has always held an interest in his Polish ancestors and heritage. He is a native Houstonian with Polish roots in Bremond, Marlin and New Waverly, Texas.