On
June 11, 2000, Racing for Smiles made its national debut at
Michigan International Speedway. The day was a huge success! The
sponsored child for that day, Jeremy O'Dell, was chosen by the staff of
the local Ann Arbor children's hospital.
Jeremy is a 15 year old young man who, despite his fight
with bone cancer, had "the best day of his life"! His day started out
with a trip around the Winston Cup garage area. The P.R. staff of
M.I.S., along with the staff from Racing for Smiles, arranged for
Jeremy to meet with several of the Winston Cup drivers. Jeremy met and
spoke with such drivers as Bill Elliott, Kenny Schrader, and Jimmy
Spencer. These drivers, and more, took time out of their busy race-day
schedules to talk with Jeremy and his parents, who accompanied Jeremy
on his special day. In addition to meeting these drivers, Jeremy also
received autographs from over two dozen other Winston Cup drivers!
For some, that would have been enough excitement for one day, but the
P.R. staff at M.I.S. didn't stop there! They arranged for Jeremy to be
one of the five people who stood in line at driver introductions, and
shook hands with each of the drivers as they were introduced! And as if
that wasn't enough, they also arranged for Jeremy and Racing for Smiles
President, Sue Sutton, to ride in the M.I.S. pace car at the beginning
of the K-Mart 400!! Both Jeremy and Sue reported that they had the ride
of their lives!! They said that looking out the back window of the pace
car, and seeing all that horsepower ready to take off was the
experience of a lifetime!!
As a result of the Racing for Smiles program being so well received by
both NASCAR and its fans, we have now begun the search for a national
sponsor, so that we can continue to bring smiles to the faces of young,
seriously ill race fans across the country! If you have any ideas or
suggestions, concerning a company that would love to sponsor Racing for
Smiles at the national level, please contact
us
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* August, 2002
Spencer Motor Ventures Public Relations Manager, Jim Melvin, announced
today that Jimmy Spencer has accepted the position of Vice President of
the Board of Trustees for the nonprofit organization, Racing for Smiles.
We are extremely
excited about Spencer's decision to join the Board, the decision to ask
Spencer to become a part of Racing for Smiles was an easy one. "Jimmy
is perfect for this organization, ", He has a big heart, and he loves
helping children!
We look forward to what Jimmy has to offer to our organization as it
continues to grow and reach out to many more deserving children. -Sue Sutton
RFS President
