Columbus Auto Dealers Give Back $120,000 from Charity Gala

On Thursday, May 21st the Columbus Automobile Dealers Association and three local children’s organizations in Central Ohio gathered to celebrate and present donations totaling $120,000.

The monies raised came from the Columbus International Auto Show’s annual Charity Gala, which took place on March 20th at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. This year’s beneficiaries were Make-A-Wish Foundation, receiving $10,000 to grant a wish, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio and St. Stephen’s Community House, who both received checks for $55,000.

About 700 dealers and vendors were in attendance for the night’s festivities in March.  10TV’s Karina Nova served as master of ceremonies, and Rhett Ricart was honored with the 2015 Automotive Achievement Award presented by The Dispatch.  A special performance by speed painter John Jansky grabbed the attention of attendees as he painted a live portrait of Urban Meyer in celebration of the National Championship while The Ohio State University Alumni Marching Band performed. The Urban Meyer painting as well as three other paintings of Heisman winners Archie Griffin, Eddie George, and Troy Smith were then auctioned off at the party. 

This $120,000 sets a new record for the funds raised by the Columbus dealers at this event!  The CADA thanks all the participating dealers, vendors, and sponsors.  They especially thank the Charity Gala’s presenting sponsor, The Columbus Dispatch, for making this possible.

Bobby Dawes (Bob-Boyd Automotive Family) served as the Chairman of the 2015 Auto Show Committee and did a wonderful job heading the fundraising efforts. The committee also included Jeff Brindley (Roush Honda), Bruce Daniels (Honda Marysville), Jim Gill (Chesrown Chevrolet Buick GMC), Rick Germain (Germain Lexus), Zach Germain (Germain Infiniti of Easton), Jim Keim (Jim Keim Ford), Phillip Kumar (The Columbus Dispatch), Barry Lester (Midwestern Auto Group), Rhett Ricart (Ricart Automotive), Greg Swain (Huntington Bank), and Scott Thomas (Buckeye Automotive Family). All these dealers worked very hard to make this incredible impact on the community.

These dollars will go a long way in providing hope, healing, education, and inspiration to so many children and families in Central Ohio.  The auto dealers hope to continue to grow these fundraising efforts even higher in the years to come.