Thursday, July 19, 2012 9:11 PM
EDT
By DIANE CHURCH STAFF WRITER
PLAINVILLE — Organizers of the first Wings &
Wheels event were pleased that they raised enough money to give two local
nonprofits a total of $22,000.
“There was an outpouring of support from
the community and from the vendors,” said Town Council member Scott Saunders,
one of the organizers, at a ceremony this week at the Plainville Community Food
Pantry. The pantry and the Petit Family Foundation each received
$11,000.
Mike Turcotte and Jeff Adams thought up the event and brought it
to Saunders, who assisted them with the planning. They had help from their
wives, Andrea Saunders, Coreen Turcotte and Daphne Adams. The event included a
large classic car show, airplanes, helicopters, food and music.
Maggie
Carlin, president of the food pantry’s board of directors, thanked the Wings
& Wheels Committee for the contribution. “We want to help people take care
of themselves,” she said. “That’s what the money will go
toward.”
The food pantry provides groceries, toiletries, household
items, clothing, emergency energy assistance, crisis intervention and referral
services and special holiday and back to school items for those in
need.
Susie Woerz, director of the pantry, said the donation is
especially welcome because the pantry has lost some regular grants this
year.
Dr. William Petit also thanked the committee.
“It was a
great inaugural event,” he said. “Thank you for putting us front and center with
the food bank. Small groups like yours make all the difference. You are all part
of the change.”
Petit and his parents,
Reggie L’Hereux, president
of the Bristol Auto Club, which provided vehicles for the car show at Wings
& Wheels, said members contributed an additional $100 toward the Petit
Family Foundation.
Saunders thanked everyone involved, from the sponsors
and participants to the high school students who made the signs. He hopes to
make Wings & Wheels an annual event.
“We started planning this less
than five months ago,” he said. “The event came off very well.”
Diane
Church can be reached at (860) 584-0504, ext. 7250, or atdchurch@bristolpress.com.
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