Posted:: Aug 21, 2012 7:40 PM EDT
13abc.com-Joe Nugent, Sports Anchor/Reporter
MANSFIELD – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course President Craig Rust presented the Friendly House of Mansfield, Ohio with a $5,000 check on behalf of CARA Charities earlier today.
Rust delivered the check to Terry Conard, executive director of Friendly House at the community center’s location in downtown Mansfield.
“We are so thankful that Mid-Ohio and CARA Charities chose us as the beneficiary of this donation. Friendly House depends on support from the community to operate at this level and continue to provide services to the Mansfield area. Donations like this are key to that initiative,” said Conard.
The money was raised by CARA Charities in a collaborative effort during an event at the track called A Taste of Mid-Ohio on Friday, August 3 during the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge & The Honda Indy® 200 at Mid-Ohio. Fans, drivers, officials and industry representatives dined at the event in the middle paddock.
“It was wonderful working with CARA Charities on this event and great to see the support we received from sponsors, the teams and industry representatives on the execution of the event,” said Rust. “A Taste of Mid-Ohio was a great time for all who attended and we’re thrilled to help raise this money for such a worthy community organization like Friendly House.”
The track assisted with space and ticket sales, CARA Charities organized logistics and invitations and some teams and partners donated food and opened their hospitality areas for the evening. $5,000 was raised at the event and the Friendly House was chosen as the beneficiary.
“It was such a pleasure working with the team at Mid-Ohio to put on such a wonderful event that helped support the Friendly House. It is always special when you can help out kids,” said Cathie Lyon, executive director of CARA Charities.
Children’s health and safety has been a primary focus of CARA since its inception, however as an ambassador for the industry, CARA occasionally supports other community-based programming and causes for members and organizations in the Motorsports family.
Friendly House, a United Way agency, is a community center located in Mansfield, Ohio. Its community center has been serving Richland County since 1899 and at its present site since 1949. Its objective is to provide crime prevention, recreational, educational, health/fitness, camping and day care programs to the immediate neighborhood and the community as a whole, at a cost everyone can afford.
A comprehensive motorsports facility, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course features a permanent road-racing circuit with two primary configurations: a 2.4-mile, 15 turn, and a 2.25- mile, 13-turn circuit. The park-like, 330-acre complex is located in Lexington, Ohio, near Mansfield, 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland. The track has been called the most competitive course in the U.S. and annually hosts a diverse lineup of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and professional drivers and riders. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course opened in 1962 and is owned and operated by Green Savoree Mid-Ohio, LLC.