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Victory Junction Campers and Wounded Warrior Project Heroes Have Special Roles to Play at This Year’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500
Press ReleaseBC & Goody’s PickAPowder.com Campaign
Incorporates Individuals From Two Important Charities in the Hearts of Trace
Adkins and Richard Petty During April 1-3 Race Weekend at Martinsville Speedway
Through the Goody’s and BC Powder Pick A Powder campaign (www.pickapowder.com) rivals and spokesmen – country music superstar Trace Adkins and racing legend Richard Petty – have formed a closer partnership with Adkins chosen charity, Wounded Warrior Project on behalf of BC and Petty’s chosen charity Victory Junction on behalf of Goody’s, making both service-oriented charities a pivotal aspect of the Goody’s Fast Relief 500.
Pick A Powder, the friendly rivalry to see which brand –BC or Goody’s– is most effective on pain and has the most loyal users, will take a back seat on April 3 as Wounded Warrior Project and Victory Junction take center stage.
“Throughout the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 weekend, Goody’s will be focusing on both worthy charities, and these honorary positions are just one way we honor them during race weekend,” said Traci Plate, brand manager at GlaxoSmithKline, the marketers of Goody’s and BC. “We want fans to enjoy the fast pain relief of Goody’s, but more importantly, this weekend is about celebrating Wounded Warrior Project and Victory Junction and bringing meaningful attention to the worthy causes the charities serve – wounded service members and children with chronic medical conditions and serious illnesses.”
Both charitable organizations will play a key role in pre-race ceremonies serving as grand marshals and honorary starter. In addition, Goody’s and BC will make a financial donation to each organization based on a portion of the sales from specially-marked packs featuring Victory Junction and Wounded Warrior Project that fans purchased between January and March.
Wounded Warrior Project – Grand Marshals
Wounded Warrior Project heroes Joe Brazzle, Rashe Hall and Sue Downs will give the command for the most famous words in racing – “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines”. Wounded Warrior Project is dedicated to honoring and empowering more than 40,000 armed forces that have been physically wounded during recent military conflicts.
John “Joe” Brazzle, a Pennsylvania native, currently lives in Fayetteville, N.C., at Fort Bragg. From a military family, Brazzle served in Afghanistan three times all without incident. On August 17, 2007, during a training event at Fort Bragg, Brazzle was involved in an explosion that burned his body and blinded him in his left eye and partially in the right.
Also living in Fayetteville, N.C., Rashe Hall is originally from Ventura, Calif. A former college football player, Hall joined the military in 2000 as a combat engineer. Six months into his tour in Afghanistan he was involved in an ambush. The first rocket-propelled grenade bounced off his chest plate and imploded inside the vehicle. The explosion lodged metal in his neck and burned Hall. He was medically evacuated from Afghanistan to a base in Houston, Texas, where he was introduced to Wounded Warrior Project.
From Tazewell, Tenn., Downs and her husband, Gabriel, have both served in the military. After her husband was medically discharged in December 2004, she decided to join the military and serve as a military police officer. Ten months after arriving in Afghanistan, Downs and her unit were on a mission and hit a land mine, killing two fellow soldiers and leaving her legs amputated from both knees down. It was at that time that she went to Walter Reed and was introduced to Wounded Warrior Project.
Victory Junction – Honorary Starter
Garon Parris, a Victory Junction camper from Trinity, N.C., will wave the green flag to start the 43-car field on the 0.526 Virginia short track.
An eight-year-old who attends Archdale Elementary School, Parris was diagnosed at 17 months old with diabetes. He has been on an insulin pump since he was three years old which also is the age he began pricking his finger. Parris receives four shots a day to properly maintain his sugar levels.
He first attended Victory Junction in September 2009 and again in April 2010 for a family weekend. He enjoys all of the activities camp has to offer including fishing, bowling, horseback riding and making new friends.
Located less than 70 miles from Martinsville Speedway in Randleman, N.C., Victory Junction (www.victoryjunction.org) is a year-round facility that provides life-changing camping experiences for children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses.
Tickets for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 weekend are on sale and may be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX begin_of_the_skype_highlightingend_of_the_skype_highlighting or by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com. Tickets for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 on April 3 start at just $25.
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ABOUT GLAXOSMITHKLINE
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is one of the world’s largest over-the-counter consumer healthcare products companies. Its more than 30 well-known brands include the leading smoking cessation products, Nicorette® and NicoDerm®CQ® as well as many medicine cabinet staples – alli®, Aquafresh®, Sensodyne®, and TUMS® – which are trademarks owned by and/or licensed to GlaxoSmithKline Group of Companies.
ABOUT VICTORY JUNCTION
Victory Junction is a year-round camping environment for children ages six to 16 with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. Founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son Adam, the camp is located in Randleman, N.C., with a second location opening soon in Kansas City, Kan. Victory Junction offers programs for a range of disease groups and maintains strong relationships with more than 30 partner hospitals. Victory Junction’s mission is to provide life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically-sound environment. As a not-for-profit organization, the camp operates solely through the support of generous individuals, groups and corporations to provide this experience at no charge to children and their families. For more information or to donate, visit www.victoryjunction.org.
ABOUT WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT
The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is to honor and empower wounded warriors. WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. To get involved and learn more, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
- ASPIRE Communications for The Goody’s and BC Powder Pick A Powder Campaign, Press Release
Article Tags: Goody's Fast Relief 500, Goody’s and BC Powder Pick A Powder campaign, Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NSCS
