BOBBY MITCHELL WASHINGTON AUTO DEALERS HALL OF FAME CLASSIC

BOBBY MITCHELL WASHINGTON AUTO DEALERS HALL OF FAME CLASSIC

Dealer Sponsorship Sets New Record For Leukemia & Lymphoma Research

Thanks to the outpouring of support from the dealer community and the unyielding loyalty of 40 NFL and NBA Hall of Famers (including an almost unheard of autographed basketball donated by former Boston Celtic Bill Russell, which netted an eye-popping $5,100 at auction), preliminary figures show that last weekendês Bobby Mitchell Washington Auto Dealers Hall of Fame Classic set a fundraising record for the benefit of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

After helping break the record last year with over $425,000 raised, WANADA agreed to be the title sponsor of this yearês Classic, held at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia.

We set a goal of raising $500,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, with WANADA committed to raising $150,000 of the total from our vendors, kindred line members, and dealer members, said DARCARS Vice President Tamara Darvish, who again co-chaired the event. When the final figures are in, I believe we will easily eclipsed both figures. I offer my deepest thanks to all our sponsors and contributors, particularly my fellow dealers, who made it happen.

Since its inception 12 years ago, the Classic has raised more than $2.7 million to help research a very dreadful disease and it has made a difference, said Bobby Mitchell. He pointed to several examples of the great progress that has been made over the past couple of decades, and introduced three young leukemia survivors as living proof. The event also included a moving video tribute to Nate Tobin, a courageous high school athlete and lymphoma survivor.

But we canêt stop our work on behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society until we find a cure, Mitchell added. Mitchell also lavished magnum praise on the over-the-top efforts of his co-chairs Michael G. Anzilotti, CEO of First Virginia Bank, and Tammy Darvish, whom he jokingly compared to an ankle-biting dog when it comes to keeping us all in line.

The weekend events featured a tournament practice round on Saturday, followed by a VIP private reception with all of the Hall of Famers and a chance to view and bid on a record number of items donated for the silent auction. The more than 600 guests at Saturday nightês banquet were again treated to the entertaining antics of emcee Paul Berry, a veteran Washington broadcaster who was at his best holding up prices during the live auction with a mixture of side-splitting humor and heartfelt plea for a great cause.

As usual, the highlight of the evening was Bobby Mitchellês video tribute to WANADA and other tournament sponsors, which featured a hilarious letter written by his wife, Gwen, to her mother recounting Bobbyês various misadventures on behalf of the primary sponsors, which also included Toyota, Chrysler-Jeep Dealers, Costco, Delta Air Lines, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Galyans, DARCARS, First Virginia Bank, Lansdowne Resort, Pepsi-Cola, and TLC Laser Center. The evening was capped off with a drawing for a Toyota Vibe.

Much needed rain came Sunday morning and washed out the golf tournament, but not before the stalwart players turned out and enjoyed a fellowship breakfast with Hall of Famers, who one by one kept the would be golfers amused with weatherman jokes.

Hall of Famers in attendance during the tournament weekend included Bobby Mitchell, Lem Barney, Bobby Bell, Mel Blount, Lou Creekmur, Bill Dudley, Hal Greer, Ted Hendricks, Ken Houston, Sam Huff, Charlie Joiner, Sam Jones, Sonny Jurgensen, Leroy Kelly, Paul Krause, Willie Lanier, Yale Lary, Dante Lavelli, Larry Little, Tom Mack, John Mackey, Tommy McDonald, Lenny Moore, Anthony Munoz, Ace Parker, Joe Perry, Mel Renfro, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Billy Shaw, Art Shell, John Stallworth, Dwight Stephenson, Charley Taylor, John Thompson, Paul Warfield, Dave Wilcox, Kellen Winslow, Willie Wood, and Ron Yary.