 |
|
Dean Green, Marilyn Green, Lulie Gund,
Gordon Gund, Bill Schmidt
|
The Foundation Fighting Blindness hosted the inaugural North Carolina Dining in the Dark Visionary Awards Dinner on Tuesday, October 11th at the Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte. The Foundation proudly honored the King of NASCAR, Richard Petty and Sonic Automotive and Speedway Motorsports Chairman and CEO, O. Bruton Smith with the prestigious Visionary Award. The event was chaired by the very first Miss Winston and FFB Board Member, Marilyn Green.
The ballroom was filled with nearly 200 people; many were dear friends and colleagues of Richard Petty, O. Bruton Smith and Marilyn Green helping the Foundation raise $250,000 to further support the critical research toward finding a cure for blindness.
The evening began with a cocktail reception, followed by the awards presentation and a live auction. The live auction featured items such as Richard Petty’s hat and sunglasses, a 7-night Caribbean cruise and a Walt Disney World Resort Travel Package. After the festivities of the live auction guests were treating to the highlight the evening: dark dining.
 |
Richard Petty and
Marilyn Green |
The evening provided guests with an unforgettable dining experience, taking them through a unique journey of tastes, sounds and touch, all in the dark. Servers hired for the evening joined us from local support organizations, and were all visually impaired themselves.
The awards ceremony included many notable speakers: Marilyn Green, The First Miss Winston and Foundation Fighting Blindness Board Member , Foundation Fighting Blindness Co-Founder and Chairman, Gordon Gund, and Bill Schmidt, Foundation Fighting Blindness Chief Executive Officer and Haynes Lea, Foundation Fighting Blindness VP and Treasurer of the Board of Directors.
Bruton Smith is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Speedway Motors, Inc., which owns and operates eight motorsports facilities across the country and provides souvenir merchandising services through its SMI Properties subsidiary. Bruton opened his first motorsports facility, Charlotte Motor Speedway, in 1960 with a 600-mile NASCAR race. He later established several automotive dealerships and, in 1997, organized his automotive group under the Sonic Automotive flag and took it public on the New York Stock Exchange. Sonic Automotive is the third largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating 136 franchises and 25 collision centers.
 |
| Petty and Derek Wynne |
Bruton is also active in philanthropic activities, including Speedway Children’s Charities, which he founded in 1982. The non-profit organization has a chapter at each Speedway Motorsports facility and has distributed more than $40 million to agencies providing educational, medical and social support. Bruton received the NASCAR Award of Excellence in 1997 for his efforts on behalf of Speedway Children’s Charities. In 2007, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Known to many as "The King," Richard Petty is the most decorated driver in NASCAR history, winning a record 200 career races and seven NASCAR Cup championships during his career. Although retired as a driver, Richard is as busy as ever, spending much of his time overseeing the operations of Richard Petty Motorsports, whose teams have won many awards since the 1990s.
Racing is about winning, and Richard has proven he knows how to do just that. But it is giving back to the community and his fans that make him "The King" of auto racing. In fact, he was instrumental in developing the Victory Junction Gang Camp after donating 84 acres of his own land, on which the camp sits today. Richard is extremely active at the camp, which gives chronically ill children the chance to experience life-changing experiences in a safe and medically-sound environment.
 |
 |
| Petty and Bruton Smith |
Bruton Smith, Dean Green, Gordon Gund |
|
