In November of 2010, Sanderson Ford donated a brand new, 2010 Ford F-150 Supercab to the 100 Club – what an incredible gift! It is amazing when local businesses not only understand, but help to enhance the mission of the 100 Club of Arizona, and when the community works together to support our everyday heroes. We are fortunate to have a strong backing from Country Thunder so we decided that a Country Thunder Truck Raffle was a perfect fit and a great way to engage Country Thunder fans during the four day music festival in Florence – and provide them an opportunity to give back a little, too! KMLE Country 108 got on board and helped us spread word about our truck raffle throughout the valley community as well, plus we opened the raffle up to our members, supporters, and anyone else who needed a new truck!

       With the help of Autostyle, Inc. and Tony’s Pinstriping, the truck was officially made into a custom ride that anyone would want to take home, and everyone did. Just over 4,100 raffle tickets were sold, raising more than $27,500 to support the men and women who stand behind the badge! On Sunday, April 10, we drew one lucky winner, ticket #4736, belonging to Yvonne Basl. She purchased just 3 tickets for the truck – and some could say that the stars aligned for Yvonne, who has been a longtime supporter of the 100 Club of Arizona as well as country music. In fact, Yvonne attended the first-ever Country Thunder in 1986 and she has continued to go almost every year since. Her dedication to country music paid off – as she is the lucky one to take home the Sanderson Ford F-150.

      After talking more with Yvonne, it is apparent that the truck went to a very deserving person. Yvonne is a warm and caring foster parent to at-risk youth, and recently adopted a 12-year-old boy who needed a home to call is own. Her generosity and kindness is apparent at first introduction. She has a big heart and an even bigger family to prove it. Yvonne claimed the truck with her husband, Jack, and two of her children, Jaclynn and Connor. Yvonne is so grateful to the 100 Club that she even volunteered to wear a t-shirt stating “I’m a winner and you can be one too!” at next year’s Country Thunder music festival. Congratulations, Yvonne, and thank you for your continued support!

      100 Club volunteers also pitched in, put on highlighter green shirts and sold 50/50 raffle tickets to the crowd of thousands to raise an additional $6,200 on-site at Country Thunder. Lastly, Saturday night headliner Martina McBride signed an electric guitar for us to auction off on stage, and it sold for $4,100! In total, more than $35,000 was raised in conjunction with Country Thunder events.

Overall, thousands of people were at Country Thunder to learn about the 100 Club of Arizona… $35,000 was raised to support our many benefits and programs… and one deserving woman took home a new Sanderson Ford F-150.

       The 100 Club would like to thank everyone who made this year’s raffle possible including: Brian Thomas, Country Thunder USA, Sanderson Ford, Autostyle, Inc., Tony’s Pinstriping, KMLE Country 108, Bill Weigt, and all of the volunteers who made it out to this year’s festival.