Stafford Speedway Nominates Keith Herzig of Wishes on Wheels for Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway has nominated Keith Herzig for the NASCAR Foundation’s Inaugural Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. Herzig is the Founder and President of Wishes On Wheels, an annual fund-raiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut. Each year since 2000, Herzig organizes the family friendly Wishes On Wheels Convoy on the third Sunday in September. To date, Wishes On Wheels has raised in excess of $670,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of CT. Most recently Herzig was involved in the CARQUEST Champions For Charities Event held at Stafford Speedway. He assisted Keith Rocco in raising funds for Make-A-Wish of CT for the Charity event, and together they raised $4,230 for the Wishes on Wheels program.
“We believe Keith Herzig exemplifies the true meaning of the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award,” said Stafford Speedway Executive Vice President / CFO Lisa Arute. “Through his Wishes on Wheels event, Keith has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the Make-A-Wish foundation of Connecticut and has helped grant over 100 wishes to Connecticut children with life-threatening illnesses. His volunteerism and charitable work has made a significant impact on the lives of children and Stafford Speedway is proud to be affiliated with Keith and Wishes on Wheels.”
Thirteen years ago, as an owner-operator truck driver, Herzig participated in a small truck convoy in Massachusetts and immediately felt the need to do something similar in Connecticut. In September of 2000, he organized a small group of close friends in the trucking industry for the first convoy. With help from the CT State Police, Department of Motor Vehicles, and FedEx of Willington, CT, he held the first Wishes on Wheels Fund-raiser for Make-A-Wish of CT. The inaugural Wishes On Wheels convoy hosted 160 trucks and the event has grown to a staggering 490 trucks. Herzig hopes with the support of the community he will be able to meet an ambitious goal of raising $1,000,000 by the 15th anniversary of the convoy.
Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. According to the National Make-A-Wish President, David Williams, a child’s wish is granted once every 40 minutes.
As part of The NASCAR Foundation’s new NASCAR Unites campaign, the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award has been established to pay tribute to Mrs. France’s philanthropic efforts and to acknowledge fans who share Mrs. France’s same spirit of generosity. Applicants for the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award will be narrowed down to four finalists and then the four finalists will be featured in an online vote and a text-to-vote campaign to determine the winner. The winner will receive an all expense-paid trip to a NASCAR race weekend in October 2011, a $100,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation to a children’s charity of their choice (must be a public registered, 501c3 tax-exempt organization in the United States), a 2012 Ford Explorer, and an all-expense-paid trip to the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week in Las Vegas in December.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR