Re: Triumph Trans-America Charity Drive Update
Hi All,
It has been a week or so since I have put updates on the TTA Charity drive status out to the Triumph world.
As of Tuesday 31 August 2009 John crossed the Canadian border for the 3rd time and is now departing Winnipeg. After departing Colorado on the 25th of August, John was accompanied off the interstate roads along the North Platte river in Colorado to Nebraska by members of the British Car Club of Northern Colorado. Arriving in Omaha Nebraska, John was received by Nebraska Triumphs for two events, then off to Minneapolis/St. Paul Twin Cities for a couple of nights with Minnesota Triumphs, then off toward Alexandria and Fargo en route to Canada. Many thanks to the many dozens of volunteers who hosted and caravaned with John to this point. John now faces some of the longest distances to drive across the Canadian Territories over the next two weeks, not to mention some extremely stunning scenery to boot.
I am happy to announce the Winnipeg British Car club has topped the charitable contributions from a single stop over!! I promised the host clubs not to publish individual totals by clubs because every club has performed exquisitely regardless of club size or donation amount. Our drive total direct to charity now exceeds $11,000.00 USD!! Want to top your own club or group's contributions? Go and rally some corporate donations directly to Sidran.org or a local Trauma / PTSD charity and I'll tally them toward your groups total. We still have a lot of time to get this donation total much higher, and do not forget - many companies match charitable donations of their employees.
As it stands now, there are only about 6 clubs and maybe as many hosts remaining in about 27 days until the "Gran Finale Drive to Triumphest". This "Gran Finale" drive is being organized by the Triumph Travelers Sport Car Club member Joe Cain and others of TTSCC. This drive is planned to head south Wednesday morning 30 September on Highway 1A from Monterey through the redwood forest, a lunch stop somewhere (maybe Cambria), then arrive en masse in two full lines of Triumphs driving on Hwy 101 to the host hotel in San Luis Obispo sometime early afternoon, again, another FIRST! This may just be one of the largest single drives of Triumphs assembled anywhere at one time and place in North America and what a spectacular road to do it! TTSCC might have to turn Hwy 1A into a temporary toll road to collect money for a local California charity or the California government!
Can you guess the correct answers (at the end of the drive in SLO) for:
The total miles driven (to the nearest 1/10th of a mile calculated by Streets-n-Trips according to my entry log feedback from each host club) by John in the TTA Stag "uj" - based on actual routes driven? The actual odometer reading - total miles from the Stag (off by roughly 9% high) to the mile at the end of the drive (from John's travel log)? The total number of people John spoke to about PTSD? The total number of Triumphs who caravaned with John? The total number of Host Clubs and Hosts for John? The total dollars raised for Charity (by the Awards dinner 3 October 2009 in SLO)?
A few TTA Charity Drive 2009 business matters:
1. I'd like to get a few sponsors to step up and donate some nice prizes for the correct answers to the above questions, awarded at Triumphest.
2. I am also asking for contributions to cover John and Liz
Macartney's registration fee for Triumphest / NATC 2009 and their hotel room at the Embassy Suites host hotel. Please contact me off list if you are willing to help out. Myself, Joe Pawlak and John Macartney will have a tech session at 4:00 pm 2 October reviewing the drive from start to finish, and I will be passing the hat to top off the totals for charity. If donating for charity, bring your checkbook or donate online, if for covering John's expenses, drop in $0.$$ to $$$$.00 at SLO;
3. Many thanks to the excellent efforts of Delaware Valley Triumph Club, Sunoco has donated $1000 in gift cards to the drive. Problem is, we did not receive the cards until John was in Tulsa Oklahoma, and all of the Sunoco Stations are east of Kentucky, with very few in California, and none remaining the Canadian western provinces and territories, Washington or Oregon. So we have ten (10), One Hundred Dollar US, ($100 USD) Sunoco Gift Cards some lucky awardees can use at any Sunoco retailer for anything Sunoco sells including fuel and services. Here is the deal. This drive is all about charity!! We want to leverage the value of
this donation for charity. Write a MINIMUM of a Two Hundred Dollar ($200) donation check (ONLY checks dated AFTER 1 September 2009) (or ONLINE CONTRIBUTION at Sidran.org after 1 September 2009) to Sidran referencing "TTA Charity Drive 2009" in the memo line and mail or click it to Sidran. Send me a copy of the check or confirmed online donation with a Self Addressed First Class stamped envelope and I will send you a $100 Sunoco Gift Card! You win TWICE, because Sidran will send you a tax deductible slip for your $200 donation, and you will get a $100 card to use for anything at Sunoco! Cards will be mailed out after Triumphest, and only the first ten (10) donations received by me will receive a gift card, so contact me if you are going to take advantage of this excellent offer!!
Thanks for your time!