NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Attending this year’s Italian American Social Club of North Brunswick summer festival proved more than just a fun day in the park for one Kendall Park resident. At the conclusion of the five-day festival, Cathy Reed was selected from more than 2,000 entries as the winner of a classic Toyota Camry. The prize, an immaculate 1998 Toyota Camry LE with a well-maintained 126,000 miles was donated for the event by DCH Brunswick Toyota/Scion.
“We wanted to do something special to help the community and make the Italian American Club’s fair a little more special,” said Joe Messina, General Sales Manager for the Route 1, North Brunswick dealership. “We came up with the idea to donate this car because it was in such incredible condition. In fact, the NADA retail book value of the car is over $5,600. In the spirit of the festival, we opted not to charge a fee for the raffle ticket, giving everyone who attended a chance to win. It was all part of the festival fun.”
Winning came as a shock to Reed. “When I filled out the entry and slipped it into the box, I had a good feeling about it,” stated Reed. “Later in the evening, we had a family emergency and had to leave quickly. The whole thing just slipped my mind. I remember saying that it was a shame we had paid to come to the festival and had to leave so soon…but we did get that entry blank filled out.”
On Sunday night, right before the fireworks, Joe Messina made the call to Reed, who dropped everything and came right over to the fairgrounds to hand in the winning ticket.
“I was so excited!” exclaimed Reed who said she has never won anything in her life. Earlier this week, Reed, a grandmother, and her husband Walter, came to the DCH Brunswick Toyota store to collect their prize.
When asked who would be driving the car, an excited Reed quickly said it would be her, adding that she was thrilled to be able to trade off her gas hungry Lincoln for a 25 miles-per-gallon car.
The 1998 Camry was carefully inspected by DCH Brunswick Toyota’s factory-certified technicians at their new, state of the art service complex on Livingston Avenue, just off Route 1 North. After installation of four new tires, brakes and careful safety check of all components, the Camry was off to the fair. “We did a thorough job of getting the vehicle ready and detailed it to like-new condition,” said Messina.
General Manager Sean Timmons congratulated Cathy and her husband Walter, and welcomed them to the DCH family. “We’re very pleased that Cathy won this car. It has a lot of life left in it and I know they’ll be delighted with this Camry’s performance.” Timmons added, “We want to especially thank the Italian American Social Club of North Brunswick and Father Bob (Father Robert Lynam) of Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Kendall who served as our drawing official.”
Headquartered in South Amboy, NJ, DCH Auto Group comprises 27 auto dealerships in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Southern California from Oxnard to San Diego, featuring a full line of new and pre-owned vehicles. The company is highly invested in principles for success that value customers and employees. DCH Auto is committed to giving back to the communities in which its dealerships operate and employees and customer live. The company is dedicated to its teen safe driver program, “Mindless Driving. Keep It Out Of Cars,” and is a sponsor of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).
For more information, please visit www.DCHAuto.com.
