Batesville, In. — A new event hosted by the Batesville Community Education Foundation (BCEF) will hopefully result in one lucky winner driving away in a 2018 “Bulldog blue” Chevrolet Cruze, according to BCEF executive director Anne Wilson. For the first time ever, the local education foundation is holding a car raffle on October 28 at 4 PM at Batesville High School (BHS), in cooperation with Tom Tepe Autocenter, to raise money for its innovative school programs.
“For some time, our board has been considering what kind of new fundraiser we could have that might garner interest from a wider section of the community and surrounding areas,” Wilson noted. “The idea of a car raffle was suggested by BCEF president Kim Kick, and vice president Jama Linkel-Cleghorn said she knew the perfect BHS alumnus to contact.”
Linkel-Cleghorn, who is the BCEF chair of the car raffle, reached out to fellow alum Harry Tepe, BHS Class of 1998 and owner and president of Tom Tepe Autocenter in Milan, to see if he could support BCEF by helping coordinate the acquisition of a car to give away in a raffle. Tepe was immediately interested.
“The more we talked about the idea, the more excited I became,” Linkel-Cleghorn said. “We wanted a tie-in to our foundation’s mission of supporting innovative learning specifically in the Batesville public schools, so I told Harry we wanted the car to be ‘Batesville Bulldog blue,’ just like the Batesville Community School Corporation’s school colors.”
A maximum of 750 tickets at a price of $100 each will be sold by the foundation. At least 500 tickets must be sold for the car to be awarded; otherwise, the raffle will automatically convert to a 50/50 cash raffle. The winner will be responsible for all withholding, taxes, title, and related fees. Official rules and regulations are posted on the BCEF website at BatesvilleEducationFoundation.org.
Due to state law, raffle tickets may not be purchased online, however, they can be purchased from any of the thirteen BCEF board members, at the BCSC administration building from BCSC superintendent Paul Ketcham, or by downloading a form from the BCEF website and mailing it in with cash or a check made payable to BCEF. Purchasers, who must be at least 18 years old, will receive a confirmation of their order and their raffle ticket number. Only one name may be listed on each ticket.
“The BCEF Car Raffle is exciting on many levels for me as a board member,” Linkel-Cleghorn shared. “It showcases our need for support in many types of ways. Of course, we are having the raffle to support the financial portion of our programs, but the partnership with Tom Tepe Autocenter highlights that we can work with business owners or individuals to support our programs in other ways, too. We are not only asking BCEF board members to help Batesville schools excel, we are asking community members to look beyond the basics and find a way to help BCEF.
“When Harry and I spoke originally, we discussed new BCEF programs available for funding that focus on workforce and trade skills, which is one of the big connections to Tom Tepe Autocenter’s workforce,” Linkel-Cleghorn continued. “Many people don’t realize that BCEF’s programs impact a wide variety of students, from those going to college to those entering a trade or other career path. The goal of the foundation is to have made an impact on every single BCSC student in some way before graduation.”
“It’s a great pleasure and honor to give back to the community by partnering with the Batesville Community Education Foundation, “ Tepe said. “As a community, we are very fortunate to have such a great group of people focused on the future success of our students.”
By highlighting the raffle partnership between BCEF and Tepe, the education foundation hopes to encourage more BHS alumni to become aware about BCEF and support its efforts to expand learning for students in the classroom—skills which they will take with them into the workforce. Those alumni who are in the area for Homecoming can watch for BCEF in the parade and at the football game.
“We hope to have the car in the Homecoming parade on September 21, when we’ll also be distributing order forms for raffle tickets to the adults in the crowd, “ Wilson said. “And if you want to check out the car up-close, we’ll have it at the game.”
“This car raffle definitely meshes with our tagline of ‘Beyond the Basics,’” Linkel-Cleghorn concluded. “There is nothing basic about taking on a project of this magnitude and awarding such a large prize. More than anything, as I chair my first event for BCEF, I want to thank the community for support. I appreciate the shares and likes on social media, the publicity by hanging our posters and allowing us to put mail-in forms at your businesses, and most of all, the questions about the raffle and purchasing tickets. I hope that a car raffle, with alumni support, will get the community talking about BCEF and what we offer to the Batesville Community School Corporation.”
For information about the raffle, including a list of BCEF board members selling raffle tickets or how to order by mail, visit BatesvilleEducationFoundation.org or email the ticket committee at [email protected]. Wilson may be reached at [email protected] or at 812-934-2194 for any further questions.
