Title
Sheriff’s Office recommending that the Board approve and accept with thanks and authorize the Chair to sign the Letter of Understanding for a donation of a Chrysler Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Mark A. Smith edition 4 x4 from Chrysler Group LLC for the Sheriff’s Off-Highway Vehicle program in memory of Mark A. Smith.
Body
Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost
There is no Change to Net County Cost. The vehicle is donated free of charge.
Background
This donation of a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Mark A. Smith edition 4 x4 from Chrysler Group LLC is being made to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office in honor of Mark A. Smith, a Georgetown native, who was instrumental in making the Jeeper's Jamboree a renowned event and the Rubicon trail a worldly attraction for El Dorado County.
In 1952, Mark and a small group of Rotarians and friends met at his home to share a dream that might help the depressed economy of the Georgetown Divide. “JEEPERS JAMBOREE,” a name born in jest, became the beginning of a legend.
Mark made a tremendous impact on the El Dorado County economy. Whereas the Rubicon Trail has been a historic route; it was Mark Smith, who took the Rubicon Trail to be recognized as the crown jewel of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and which came to be known throughout the world.
Mark, a world-class adventurer and 4x4 motorsports pioneer who organized the first gathering of Jeep owners for an off-road trek along the torturous Rubicon Trail over the Sierra Nevada, died June 9, 2014 at age 87. He was a legendary outdoorsman who was widely credited with launching 4x4 off-roading as a sport more than 60 years ago and popularizing Jeeps as recreational vehicles.
After settling in Georgetown in 1951, he worked with the local Rotary on a plan to bring visitors to the rugged El Dorado County community by promoting Jeep riding as a means to boost the economy.
In 1953, he launched the Jeepers Jamboree, which drew more than four dozen 4x4 vehicles and 155 revelers for ...
Click here for full text