To say Blaise Prost loves her 2023 Bronco Badlands would be an understatement.
“I knew that when my minivan had hit its life expectancy, I wanted something special,” she said. “The kid would be off to college, and I could spoil myself. I saw that new Bronco and knew instantly that was it! I went to our Cincinnati auto show and saw one all decked out and couldn’t stop dreaming about it! And a 7-speed manual? I was stoked!”
The Bronco Nation member from Finneytown, Ohio, drives her Hot Pepper Red Metallic ride every day and loves every minute of it. “I love how high it sits, I love shifting the gears, and I love the nods I get when I cruise by. I love when someone stops me to ask me about it!” And whenever the Business Analyst, mom, and self-proclaimed Bengals fanatic is able, she loves getting behind the wheel for some fun. I mean, her personalized license plate kind of says it all: BUCN FUN.
An avid golfer, Blaise said if she could cruise in her Bronco all over the United States and golf every day (24/7), she would. “The only feature that was a must before purchasing was to be sure I could fit up to four sets of golf clubs in the back with a foursome of friends if necessary!”
Add to that her love of pretty much any outdoor activity — camping, hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, Mountain Biking, and it’s like the Bronco was made for Blaise. She also participates in the famous Ohio River Paddlefest every year, where you paddle nine miles down the Ohio River through downtown Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. The Bronco is key to helping Blaise enjoy some of that outdoor fun. “I frequently tow the fishing boat with the Bronco, and have also been known to carry bikes and pull a small trailer with my motorcycle on it!”
Blaise said she “built it so nice from the beginning”, that she has yet to add anything new to her Badlands… other than the spare tire cover with a Sasquatch on it. Eventually, she said, “I would love to add a tailgate and lights, I love lights.” But you really know that Bronco is special when it gets the prime spot in the garage. “I had not had a car in a garage my whole life, but we turned it around so it could be for more storage, but also fit the Bronco. I was excited to bring it home and make sure it fit into the garage perfectly…which it does!”
Blaise and her partner of 22 years, Sarah, attended Bronco Nation Member Day at the Bronco Off-Roadeo location in New Hampshire. “I did not consider myself an off-roader and I waivered on attending the Off-Roadeo,” Blaise said. “But once I did it, I fell in love with it! I can’t believe all the amazing things these babies can do, and I am now thinking about how I should or should not alter my Bronco just a bit so I can do some off-roading!”
One of the best parts of the Off-Roadeo experience is connecting with others — from fellow owners to the awesome Trail Guides. And that’s when they met Bronco Nation team member, London. They were talking about loving the experience and loving the Bronco, when another love of Blaise’s came up: helping others. Specifically helping people in the Cincinnati Tri-State area.
Blaise told London about an upcoming golf outing she hosts every year in memory of her sister-in-law Cathy, who passed away from colon cancer in May of 2005, less than a month after her 33rd birthday. “Cathy was one of the kindest people you would ever meet. She was an incredible wife and mother, a loyal friend, and a fierce believer in helping others.”
Pictured: Cathy, the family, Blaise and her brother, her brother and family.
When Cathy was sick, she was invited to be honored and receive support from a charity golf outing that Blaise had been participating in for 15 years prior. Unfortunately, Cathy passed away before the event. But the golf outing still took place, and the money raised was given to Cathy’s family. “That money helped my brother and his three kids through the roughest of times, when nothing really matters or helps,” said Blaise. “That financial support provided a few months where my brother didn’t have to worry every second about where meals were coming from and how to pay the incoming bills.”
That foundation inspired Blaise start her own golf outing to help people in Cathy’s memory.
And so, the Cathy M. Prost Memorial Foundation was born.
Dedicated to providing compassionate support and assistance to individuals facing life-altering health diagnosis, the foundation’s mission honors Cathy’s legacy of kindness and resilience, fostering hope and healing for all. Blaise never forgot how much that golf outing helped her brother and kids so long ago, and she wanted to give back and help someone, anyone the same way.
This year will be their 13th annual outing. So on September 21, Blaise and an army of friends and family who loved Cathy will once again gather to help support another deserving recipient. This year’s recipient is Adam, a young father recently diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer with metastasis to his liver. “We’re tiny compared to other outings, but we are working as hard as we can to hopefully make Cathy proud and helps others as she would have done herself.”
Pictured: 2023 recipients.
If you live in the Cincinnati Tri-State area and want to hit the links for a good cause at this year’s golf outing, or want to learn more about the CMP Memorial Foundation, visit their website at www.cmpmemorialfdn.org.
So what would Cathy think about riding in the Bronco? Blaise said that while she was adventurous, “I don’t know if Cathy would have gone to Off-Roadeo or not… but something tells me that yes, she absolutely would.” We hope so, too.
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