Friday, Aug. 22, 2008
Larre’s Corner
Many of you remember that over the past several years, GRACE has raffled off a vehicle in conjunction with their annual fundraising gala. Talk about saying Vroom Vroom all the way to the bank!
This year when it came time to think about the raffle, Ken Thompson and Tom Durant of Classic Chevrolet came up with an idea after The Thompson Group signed up to be the GRACE Gala Title Sponsor.
At the Detroit International Auto Show this year, Corvette enthusiasts drooled at the introduction of the 2009 special edition Corvette ZR 1 — the fastest and most powerful (and most expensive) Corvette ever produced. And knowing that these rare cars would be selling way over sticker price, these two came up with an idea to auction off one of these amazing cars and donate every dollar over sticker to GRACE as this year’s auto part of itsraffle.
Naturally, the best way to get the maximum auction dollar for this type of auto is to hold the auction where major car collectors gather, and that meant the Classics of Monterey Auction in Monterey, Calif.
Clearly this was a great idea because once all was said and done, the Victory Red Corvette ZR 1 went for $137,500 which was $20,500 more than the $117,000 MSRP and on top of that, RM Auction, which handled the sale, donated half of the Buyer’s Premium (the 10 percent charge that the auction winner pays to the auction house) to GRACE as well, providing a grand total of $27,375 all for GRACE.
The interesting and most remarkable part of this deal: The winning bidder had to purchase the car sight unseen, because it hasn’t even been built yet!
As for the GRACE Gala raffle this year, it hasn’t gone away, actually, with the auto part out of the way, that has left room for an $11,000 trip to Hawaii for two — donated by Brian Zvonecek/Farmers Insurance; an $11,000 diamond and platinum pendant donated by Grayson Allen Fine Jewelers and a $10,000 2008 Kawasaki 4X4 Mule donated by Grapevine Kawasaki. Raffle tickets are $50 each or three for $100, and can be purchased by calling GRACE or by visiting their Gala Web site, www.gracegala.org.
By the way, you can also purchase a ticket to the Saturday, Oct. 25 Gala, which will be at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convenction Center, $225 each or a table of 10 for $2,000 on the Web site as well.
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The Open Arms Program is getting the word out about their upcoming luncheon and style show Season of Hope, Wednesday, Oct. 29, beginning at 10:30 at the Cacharel Grand Ballroom in Arlington.
This year’s luncheon will honor Open Arm’s 20 years of providing hope and care to victims of domestic violence in Tarrant County. Attendees will enjoy fashions provided by the Hurst SteinMart along with a three-course meal. Tickets are $60 each and can be purchased by calling Community Enrichment Center at 817-281-1164.
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