Hi Guys,
It's been awhile. We wanted to let you know of an opportunity for a run in May 2014 from anywhere in Australia to the big rock in the middle of that same country.
We are looking for sponsorship so we sent an email to the ABC to follow the experience.
This is what I sent to the ABC.
We were only allowed to have 6 paragraphs and was told “Make us sit up and take notice, we get 1000’s of stories submitted every year”
"The Cannonball Run held in Darwin 1994 had a tragedy where 2 Japanese Dentists driving an exotic Ferrari F40 slammed into 2 officials where all in the accident died. It was the first legal Cannonball Run anywhere in the world and to this day the only legal Cannonball Run anywhere in the world.
This coming May is the 20th anniversary of the tragic event. This coming May we are inviting 100's of exotic cars that already make the pilgrimage every year from all over Australia to attend and see the human side of the event. Where they normally see a memorial for a car race, we intend to show the group of exotic car enthusiasts a memorial for human life.
This year for the first time we have the parents of one of the race officials closing the chapter that took their son away from them. Gerry & Carol Pritchard have never been to the memorial site set up to stand as a memorial for their son. This year we are raising sponsorship money to give the parents the trip of a life time from Queensland to Adelaide where they will get on the Ghan Train and arrive at the memorial site near Alice Springs. After this they'll go to their sons grave site in Darwin where 20 years ago the police allowed non registered cars on the road in order to be in the funeral procession.
The Pritchard's received little to no compensation after legal fees, and there is even talk of a politician up in the Northern Territory pushing to have the event again.
With so many questions still unanswered, we think that following the Pritchard's on their journey would make a real Australian Story, a story worth telling. The story’s got fast cars, an accident, a court case, loads of media attention, and a famous former race car driver that promoted the event and would love for story to go away.
We have picked Australia Story because we believe the ABC to have the highest amount of integrity of all the networks. You can find out more at www.cannonballrun.info The ABC even ran two shows back in 1994 on the 7.30 Report.
Please consider this story as we would love for the ABC to take this on. If not Australian Story then who... We cant think of anyone better.
Russ Tuff
www.cannonballrun.info"
As we have said in the email... we would love you all to be there and witness this with us. and we are looking for some sponsorship to get the Pritchard's there on the day. (costing are being worked out in the next day or so by their travel agent) If you know of any sponsor that may be able to help out... were listening.
I would be very interested to get your feedback, any comments, and any ideas of who to contact for sponsorship money.
We trust we'll meet as many of you as we can on the 24th of May 2014.
This is what jumped at me, apart from what amgsl55 said:
- the ABC email looks like you are offering to open up a hornets nest that can affect us (driving enthusiasts) negatively.
- why only the Pritchards - why not the family of the other Australian too?
- you have to get the Japanese families involved too
And also, why are you so involved in this? If you have not even met these people, why are you spending so much energy on them? I understand doing good deeds, but surely there are plenty of other things you can do that for, where it would be appreciated more, for example children and animals, who truly can't help themselves, rather than a couple that needs a stranger, that has never met them, to push them to visit their son's memorial and grave because they haven't managed to do so of their own accord in 20 years.
It just seems that you want this more than they do, which to me it seems strange considering you have never met them.
You make something idiotproof, they'll make a better idiot.