Talley revved up to show off cars, continue fight against cancer
Car show at fairgrounds attracts fleet of tricked-out cars
GREEN COVE SPRINGS — Marcus Talley loves to hear an engine rev. The smell of fumes, hot brake fluid and gear oil stirs his emotions. His head and neck still rock to the gut-shaking beats of a subwoofer.
It means he’s alive.
“I did eight rounds of chemo,” Talley said at last weekend’s Cars of Purpose’s Rev Out Cancer Car Show at the Clay County Fairgrounds. “I survived cancer. I beat it. I know what breast cancer survivors go through. I know what breast cancer fighting is like. Well, I don’t know exactly about breast cancer, but I know cancer. It’s a serious thing.”
Talley hosts car shows around Northeast Florida to raise money for cancer-related causes. He’s obtaining his 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax exemption status, allowing him to expand his philanthropy.
“You feel like you’re by yourself. This is my way of giving back to the community, to let them know they’re not alone,” he said. “They have somebody standing beside them fighting with them, somebody that knows the trauma that they’re going through, somebody that knows the depressing feeling of not being able to pick up a cup of coffee with one hand and enjoy life. All you do is sit there with a mask and be weak.”
The two-day show in Green Cove Springs benefited Marty Pierce, who is battling Stage 2 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Like Talley, Pierce is a car enthusiast who enjoys car shows.
“I do this out of my pocket; I don’t keep a dime,” he said. “When I get my 501(C)(3), I’ll be able to reach out to companies and organizations like the Jaguars and ask them if I can have a car show at the stadium. That way, I can reach more people in the community.”
