Area Firestone Dealer Supports Meals On Wheels

The Firestone store at the Chapel Hill Mall near Akron held a Charity Event & Raffle on Sunday, Aug. 15, with 100 percent of the proceeds designated for Meals On Wheels.

The event took place in the store parking lot from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Free hamburgers, hot dogs, soft drinks and sno-cones were provided, along with an inflatable "Spider-Man" bouncing playground for kids, provided by Steve's House of Bounce.

Scott Wilson, store manager, got the idea for the raffle after attending a Firestone dealers conference in Florida. Enid Borden, president of the Meals On Wheels Association of America, spoke to the group and talked about the mission of Meals On Wheels and the need at local programs around the country.

Scott returned to Ohio and began working on the event idea. Raffle prizes were donated by area businesses such as O'Charley's Restaurant, TranzPro Transmission, Credit First National, Pepsi, and WONE 97.5 Radio, along with Bridgestone/Firestone and the mall management.

Ken Steel of WQMX 94.9 FM, shown at right in the blue shirt, was present at the event and phoned in updates throughout the afternoon. WQMX also held a raffle for concert tickets, with all proceeds also going to Meals On Wheels.

Firestone raffle prizes included four tickets to the Cleveland Browns 2010 home opener, five sets of tickets to any remaining Cleveland Indians home game in 2010, Akron Aeros tickets, aluminum wheels from Terry's Tire Town, Bridgestone golf balls, umbrellas and a Bridgestone golf bag, Bridgestone and Firestone hats, an iPod Touch, restaurant gift cards and more.

Scott Wilson is shown in the bottom photo as he assists one of the raffle entrants.

Almost $1,900 was raised on behalf of Meals On Wheels during the event. Our thanks to Scott and everyone at Firestone, and to WQMX for their support during the afternoon.