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Chicago Auto Show Gala Raises $1.18 Million for Charities

15 February 1999

Chicago Auto Show Gala Raises $1.18 Million for Charities

    CHICAGO, Feb. 12 -- The following press release was issued by
the Chicago Automobile Trade Association today:

    First Look for Charity, the black-tie gala of the 1999 Chicago Auto Show,
Friday raised nearly $1.2 million for 12 area charities and sent two attendees
home with a new Ford vehicle.
    The event that precedes the public opening of the auto show at McCormick
Place South attracted 9,500 benefactors, who saw the nearly 1,000 vehicles on
display amid an elegance not present when more than 1 million people converge
on the show during its 10-day consumer run.
    The 1999 Chicago Auto Show is open to the public Feb. 12-21.
    Half the audience at First Look for Charity typically is people with ties
to the participating charities; the other half, representatives of the auto
industry.  For the first time in the event's eight years, someone from the
latter group won one of the vehicle prizes.
    Terry Rice, proprietor of Foley-Rice Cadillac-Oldsmobile in Oak Park,
Ill., won a 1999 Ford Windstar SEL minivan valued at more than $33,000.  In
the second drawing, Connie Lindsey, a senior vice president at Northern Trust
Bank, won a '99 Ford Mustang GT convertible worth more than $30,000.  Both
vehicles were provided by Ford Motor Co. and the Chicago Ford Dealers
Association.
    Lindsey, who did not own a car, said she had attended the event to begin
her own car-buying process.  For Lindsey, the process concluded quickly.
    Lindsey sprinted to the podium upon realizing she held a winning ticket.
"I'm glad I've been working out," she quipped.
    There were many winners Friday evening, though.  The 12 organizations
participating in this year's First Look for Charity received 100 percent of
the event's proceeds, said 1999 Chicago Auto Show Chairman Mike Cook.
    Charities involved with the 8th First Look for Charity included
ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Alzheimer's Association,
Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago, Children's Memorial Hospital, The Cradle, and
Illinois Spina Bifida Association.
    Also, Little City Foundation, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation,
Misericordia Heart of Mercy Center, National Multiple Sclerosis Society,
Ray Graham Association for People with Disabilities, and Ronald McDonald House
Charities.