Lions’ Mustang Raffle Makes Dream Come True

“Oh my God! I can’t believe it! I’ve wanted this car since I was 16 years old!”

Lucky winner Sue Souliere of New Bedford, Mass., was so excited with her shiny, slate blue 1964½ Classic Mustang, she could hardly stand still when she picked it up in Newtown on Saturday.

“Wait ‘til I get home and show this car to my son,” she said. “I have been telling him I wanted a Mustang since he was a baby.”

Ms Souliere bought the winning ticket for the Newtown Lions Club’s Mustang raffle at an antiques fair in Brimfield, Mass., in May. She said she was drawn to the car because of her long-held desire to own one and because she loved the color. The Lions displayed the car for six months at a variety of shows and fairs throughout Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts.

The lucky ticket was drawn October 18 by Newtown optometrist Dr Roger Moore. Ms Souliere was immediately notified by phone and made arrangements to come and pick up the car at the home of Lions’ car committee chairman Jon Christensen Saturday afternoon. Committee members John Kopins and Walt Schweikert were also on hand for the occasion.

This year’s raffle was highly successful, according to Mr Christensen. The proceeds will be used for more than 40 community, state, national, and international charitable programs. The Lions have placed special focus on projects to help the visually impaired and on juvenile diabetes awareness programs. They have already committed to the donation of two ophthalmology scopes to Kevin’s Community Center. Donations or commitments also have been made to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut, the Salvation Army Food Pantry, and the Fuel Bank run by the Newtown Department of Social Services.

In addition to monetary donations, the Lions are looking into the possibility of sponsoring some new community projects, either with another service club or organization or by themselves. For a number of years, the Lions have partnered with the Newtown Parks and Recreation department to support the playground at Treadwell Park. They built it several years ago and then rebuilt it after it was destroyed by vandalism. They also have been maintaining the trails at Orchard Hill Nature Preserve in partnership with Parks and Recreation and the Boy Scouts.

The car committee is in the process of selecting another vintage Mustang for next year’s raffle. The year 2004 will be a very special year for Mustangs. It will be the 40th anniversary of the car’s introduction at the World’s Fair in New York. Although 1964½ models like this year’s raffle are becoming very scarce, the Lions hope to find a similar classic. All of the cars raffled in recent years have been 1964–67 models.