A Little Bit about us
Our Story
In November of 2021 Noah Klink was diagnosed with Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma of the Liver, "A rare form of Liver Cancer", where he had to undergo multiple surgeries and many rounds of Chemo and Radiation. He was at St. Jude for 8 Months straight. This was amazing as all of his care and housing was covered, but to be able to keep his Mom and Dad by his side they would need money to cover their bills back home. Their friends and family started running every fundraiser we could think of. Our families are very close and have traveled all over going to car shows together, so we thought a Benefit Cookout Car Meet may be a good way to raise money for them. We started advertising for the Noah Klink Benefit Car meet and Cookout for April 9th 2022. We reached out and were able to get all food and drinks donated as well as a few Items to raffle off, so that 100% of the proceeds would go to them. This "Car Meet" ended up having people travel in from the surrounding states, we ended up with over 150 cars and raised close to $7000 for their family. "The amount of love and support shown was so overwhelming"
As soon as the Benefit was over we had so many people asking if we were going to do it again.
Around the time Noah was cleared to come home, We found out a coworker's Granddaughter, "Alison" had been diagnosed with All -B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Fast Forward to January 2023-- We reached out to the team that helped us make the event happen the year before, in addition to the Klink family. We started planning the Event for that year but decided to make it a full Car show "Rides on the River".
After seeing the huge amount of support over the last two years we knew we couldn't stop there.
In October 2023 we established Rides on The River Inc. and received our 501(c)3 Non-Profit status so that we can get even more support from our sponsors!
We Hope to see you at our next event!
Meet our Board
The Crains
For starters I'm Kody. I am a National Accounts Project Manager for a Security and Network Company. I grew up in a small town with the Klinks. Kody Klink and I have been best friends since we were in second grade. My wife Danielle and I consider Noah our nephew. We all have been car enthusiasts for as long as we can remember, which made hosting a car show for Noah a no brainer. Danielle is an Optometric Technician at Moss Eye Care In Monroe. We have been married for 6 years, but have been together for 18 years this past November. We have two dachshunds, Fidgett and Nuggett! We love to travel and go to car shows! It is well known within the car community that car enthusiasts are a tight knit family, people of all walks of life brought together by one shared interest.
The Sharps
We want to introduce ourselves as a part of the board for Rides on the River. My name is Kim Sharp and my husband is Jason. We, along with Jason's brother Rodney Reeves own Bolding Auto Body Inc. Bolding's is honored to be the Title Sponsor for Rides on the River 4 years running. Jason and I have been married for 6 years and have a son Elijah, and a daughter AdaGrace. We have a basset hound Maybelle. We also love to travel, usually taking our side by side on trails in Northwest Arkansas. Jason is a car enthusiast as well and builds hot rods in his spare time. Jason and I both work full time at the Bolding's. Kody Klink is a long time friend and also an employee at the shop.
The Klinks
Hi, I'm Michael Ann Klink, my husband is Kody Klink. We have one son, Noah. He is the whole reason that Rides on the River exists. Noah, who is now 11, was only 8 years old when he was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer. He is currently in remission and doing well! We also have a Golden Retriever Mix puppers named Ruthie!! She is 7. She also had a sarcoma cancer in 2023 and we had to amputateher back left leg but she is thriving!! I work in the Newborn Nursery at St. Francis Medical Center. My husband is an Auto Body technician at Bolding Auto Body. We are so honored to continue on this mission of helping a family in need! As this organization's first recipient family, we owe a debt that we can never repay. We are forever grateful for Rides on the River! Until you are in a situation where you have a child who has medical needs and with that so much of the unknown follows, but it is so comforting to know that people truly care and want to help.