Raffle Nets Extra Special People $26,500

By Ally Geronimo
Earlier this year, in honor of their one year anniversary in the community, Athens Ford decided to do something extra special for local non-profit Extra Special People, Inc.  

Athens Ford teamed up with Rocky Ridge to raffle off a 2013 “Rocky Ridge” F-150 to a very lucky ticket holder! On Saturday, November 9th, the winner was selected at Broad Street’s new Verizon Wireless during their Super Saturday Grand Opening; Patti Hunter is the proud winner of the truck. The winning ticket was pulled by Miss University of Georgia, Jenna Jackson.

A net of $26,500 was raised for ESP through the raffle to go towards their campaign for a more adequate facility. They currently operate in 1600 sq. ft. of space and have the dream for a facility that is more adequate for the children they serve and the ones who are waiting.

New to the area, Mark Ficken, Managing Partner & Owner of Athens Ford couldn’t help but to jump on board with ESP’s dream. He has become a huge supporter, “Extra Special People is an incredible organization that is very near and dear to our hearts and we want to do as much as we can to help them reach their goals and continue making an impact in the local community.”

The raffle began in late July, after Athens Ford’s 1st birthday celebration and ran through November 8th. Raffle tickets were available for purchase for $10 in a variety of locations including TCC Verizon Wireless who sold over 600 tickets, all local Your Pie locations and Jittery Joe's Watkinsville.

 ESP would like to give a big ‘Hip, hip, hooray’ and thank you to Athens Ford, Rocky Ridge, Tom Bradford and the entire TCC Verizon Wireless team and all of the ESP friends and families who made the raffle a huge success for the organization!  “The theme of the raffle, ‘You Drive, We Thrive,’ couldn’t be closer to the truth. Thanks to the generosity of Athens Ford, Rocky Ridge & TCC Verizon Wireless along with our dedicated families and supportive community… we are one step closer to our dream,” says ESP’s Executive Director, Laura Whitaker.