Operation Sweet 16 is a campaign launched by 15 year old North Texan Tori Pimentel on Memorial Day 2011. Tori, is my niece by marriage. She has made the decision that the extravagance that is shelled out for many “Sweet 16” birthday parties could be put to better use. If you have ever witnessed the fiscal debauchery of the “My Super Sweet 16” show on MTV, you know exactly what I mean. In lieu of a birthday party of this nature, she has committed herself to raising $16,000.00 in donations to Operation Once in a Lifetime by the time her 16th birthday arrives in March 2012. They are a nonprofit organization that helps active and retired U.S. soldiers who are in need of financial assistance with things like flights to get home to see ill loved ones, auto repairs, and medical bills. Sometimes, they even surprise someone with tickets to a sporting event donated by teams like the Mavericks or Rangers. I proudly come from a long line of military family members and when she launched this campaign, I immediately began to think of ways to help her meet her goal. Knowing that the majority of the car show community is pro military, I began to work on the idea of hosting a car show so big that it might be possible to meet or exceed her goal. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the tragic events that occurred on 09.11.01. In honor of our men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, Operation Sweet 16 with the help of many dedicated volunteers has organized a massive car show at Texas Motor Speedway this upcoming September 11th. Contestant entry is only $10.00 and I encourage everyone possible to join me there in support of this noble cause. Operation Sweet 16 is also a registered 501(c)(3) organization making your allowable donations tax deductible. When TMS was approached, they were so enthusiastic about helping our men and women of the military that they immediately offered to provide security, restroom access and trash handling services for the proposed event. Through private donations, the required insurance and required fees have already been secured to make this happen. That means that every contestant registration, every dog tag made at this event and additional donations will 100% go toward this charity! OS16 has already garnered some media attention and it is expected that some of them may be on hand to cover this event too. We are excited about the positive difference we can all be a part of this coming Patriot Day, 2011! So please come join us if possible and please tell all your friends! Contestants: Contestant electronic pre-registration, although not required, is available at the following address: http://9-11carshow.eventbrite.com/ Contestant mail in pre-registration forms are also available at the following address: http://operationsweet16.org/downloads/Registration.pdf Available classes: Best Classic (1972 & Prior) Best Current (1973 - Present) Best Custom Best Trick Truck Best Exotic Best Muscle Best Two Wheeler Best of Show Spectators: Entry: FREE Time: 1:00pm – 5:00pm Official Operation Sweet 16 website: http://www.operationsweet16.org
For those of you on Facebook, there is an event page at the following link where you can indicate if you are attending and you can also invite all your Facebook friends too! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166015186799900 There is also an official Facebook page for Operation Sweet 16 here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Operation-Sweet-16/133155640092161
We would love to have everyone no matter what kind of condition your car is in. There will be a military Humvee and dog tag machine from Operation Once in a Lifetime present to help with the fund raising also. You might have caught them at our recent smaller monthly show at Hooters of Frisco earlier this month.
Thank you for your service and for taking care of business for our country! This charity helps both active and non-active duty service men & women. If you have any friends in the area, please help spread the word. So far, her charity has raised $3400.00 in donations to OOIAL through multiple small events in this record hot summer here in north Texas. I would love for this event to not only be a door buster for her; but, also be successful enough to become an annual event.
DJ Chris Nite from www.81xRocks.com and the Car Show Malitia will be donating his serives at the show to spin up everyone's favorite tunes!
We were invited to Good Morning Texas to display some cars in Victory Plaza and have my niece talk about this car show event. In case you missed one of the segments, here is a handy link. Please join us for our Operation Sweet 16 Car Show on 9/11 at Texas Motor Speedway to help her reach her goal of $16K in donations. http://www.wfaa.com/good-morning-tex...129412468.html
Thank you all who came out in rememberance, to celebrate America and to honor our military at the Operation Sweet 16 9/11 car show!! Jamie's Performance and Repair brought out a couple of cars including a beautiful Buick GS. They also donated a $100 gift certificate for the raffle to help raise funds for our soldiers in need. The eventual winner of that said it was perfect timing because their water pump was starting to go out on the way to the show. :beers2:
