This came through today on the Thunder Valley e-mail list. Good stuff.
Katie K.
-----Original Message-----
From: Caroline B. Wright [mailto:gofazt@iapc.net]
Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2002 10:32 AM
To: DriversGroup@thunval.com
Subject: Ferrari Challenge Driver Devotes Racing to Fulfill Children's
Wishes
THREE M'S: MONTREAL, MANDY AND MAKE-A-WISH
Ferrari Challenge Driver Devotes Racing to Fulfill Children's Wishes
Houston, TX For Mandy Williams Reimert, every race
is a victory. Each time she puts a wheel on the track, she wins. But
it's not because she finishes the race first. It's because a she is able
to "share the power of a wish." Her #19 Make-A-Wish Ferrari 360
Challenge car prominently carries the Make-A-Wish logo, a non-profit
organization dedicated to granting the special wishes of children with
terminal or life-threatening illnesses. Mandy hopes to share this
powerful message with the vast number of spectators who will enjoy the
Ferrari Challenge race at Montreal as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix
spectacle on June 9, 2002.
The names and messages that appear on the car's distinctive white stripe
are from major donors and Wish-makers. The graphics will remain on the
car for all remaining 2002 Challenge races, including the prestigious
Montreal and U.S. Grand Prix Formula 1 events. After only three Ferrari
Challenge races in 2002, she has already raised $75,000. 100% of the
proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Reimert competes in the Ferrari Challenge as a member of the Challenge
Championship-winning Ferrari of Houston dealership team. Since 1994,
the series is comprised of gentlemen/lady drivers who race their own
Ferrari's. Hired professional drivers are not allowed. Traditional
sponsorship is practically non-existent. The owner/drivers are all
achievers who are enjoying the fruits of their labor and the thrill of
competition in one of the world's most desired sports cars.
In that regard, Mandy Williams Reimert fits the pattern. After earning
her masters degree at the NYU/London School of Business and
accomplishing great success in the private sector, she is now president
of her own financial management consultant company, The CEA Group.
However, her success in business is not what motivates her.
Mandy has three passions in her life: Her family, her racing and
Make-A-Wish. With the support of a loving husband and three
step-children, she is able to combine her love of racing with her
dedication to Make-A-Wish, where she is on the Board of Directors for
the Make-A-Wish Foundation for the Texas Gulf Coast and is one of the
foundation's leading fundraisers. Her racing program was developed to
raise awareness of Make-A-Wish, and to establish an endowment to ensure
that Make-A-Wish will always have the resources to make wishes come
true. To that end, Mandy has devoted her entire racing program to
raising funds for Make-A-Wish.
Mandy's first race car, a stock Porsche 996, was entered in Porsche Club
events in 1999 - 2001. During that time, Mandy raised $215,000 for
Make-A-Wish. When she decided to compete in the Grand-Am sanctioned
Ferrari Challenge series, Reimert recognized an even greater opportunity
to raise funds and awareness for M-A-W. Her goal for 2002 is to match or
exceed the amount she raised in two years of Porsche Club racing.
MAKE-A-WISH CHILD MAKES DRIVER'S DREAM COME TRUE
One Wish Child found her way indirectly to Mandy. One day, during a
Porsche Club racing weekend, Mandy was approached by another race car
driver who identified himself as the father of a Wish Child. He made a
donation and asked that his daughter's name, Ashley, be put on Mandy's
Porsche 996 race car.
Not knowing the fate of this man's daughter, Mandy asked what Ashley's
wish was. He described Ashley's wish to meet the Sesame Street
characters, which Make-A-Wish made happen. At the next race, he asked
for a picture of Ashley's name on the car, which Mandy happily arranged.
Several months later at Road Atlanta, a little girl came up to Mandy and
said, "You're the lady with my name on her race car, aren't you?"
It was Ashley. That day Mandy got a wish of her own. She drove Ashley
for three laps around Road Atlanta.
"That moment was worth it all," beamed Mandy. "There is no race I could
win, not Montreal, not Indianapolis, or even the 24 Hours of
Daytona,.nothing, that would top the feeling I had when I when I drove
Ashley around the track. Those were true victory laps."
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