Win a used car? What a concept for HS students
News item: Ray Ciccolo’s Village Automotive Group has been giving away cars to high school students again—five in all this spring, 15 in the last five years. Reaction: Where was his Keys to Success program when I was in high school?
Ciccolo is closing in on 50 years in the automotive business but he’s never forgotten his roots.
In a message about the “Keys to Success’’ program, he posts this statement: “Education is a driving force in my life. My family came from (very!) modest means, but from my early days in the Cambridge public schools, I learned that there is no limit to what you can achieve when you better yourself through education. My greatest achievement has been helping to raise three college graduates, but I also take great pride in how education has helped me create a successful business that provides quality jobs and is a positive force in the community. Our hope here at Village Automotive is that Keys to Success helps motivate kids to see the limitless potential that awaits them when they strive to achieve in school.’’
Every year, 1,500-1,800 students have participated in the auto giveaway competition at area high schools. This year’s participants were Brighton, Danvers, Jeremiah Burke, Madison Park, Peabody, Waltham, and Newton North.
Students are awarded KeyCards by teachers and administrators for academic achievement, improved attendance, tutoring, participation in the arts, and volunteering. The KeyCard gives the student access to the www. villageautomotivekeys.com website to collect prizes from sponsors such as gift certificates, vouchers, gift cards, and tickets.
During the last few months of school, the teachers and administrators randomly select between 25-50 students from the pool of Key- Card recipients at that school. These selected students then randomly compete for a chance to win a car (valued at $4,000 to $5,000) at a Keys to Success year-end assembly.
There, the selected students at each “Key Off’’ get an actual random car key to try in the ignition as the winner is selected at their school.
That created an unexpected conundrum at Danvers, where a 2002 Volvo S40 was the prize. “We prepared a box of keys only to find out that trying so many incorrect keys disabled the ignition,’’ said GM Tony Bartolotti of Village Hyundai of Danvers. “We wound up having to use a lock box instead.’’
That didn’t dim the excitement of Danvers sophomore Joe Balesteri, who won the car and was immediately joined by four friends inside.
This year’s other winners: Peabody: Senior Linda Pratto won a red Hyundai Elantra after being nominated for volunteering as a math tutor on a weekly basis.
Madison Park: Senior Joana Rosa was nominated by her calculus and nursing teachers for academic achievement, community service, and citizenship. She’s an AP English and chemistry student who will attend UMass in the fall.
Waltham: Sophomore Kenny Jones, an athlete from a single-parent home, was nominated for making significant academic gains during the year because his dad had promised him a car during his senior year if he worked hard at school.
Newton North: Vanessa Battista won the a car, but some participants missed the Key Off event because of AP exams. The Village group told Battista she could keep the car, but she opted to take a $5,000 scholarship instead. Junior Kristian Sumner won a 1997 Red Honda Civic in a second drawing.
From the Automotive Periphery
During Nissan’s launch of the new Altima in Nashville last month, the company took a group of media folks on a tour of the Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Old Opry, ending with a dinner held on the stage.
Afterwards, Nashville singer-songwriters Cory Batten and Kent Blazy entertained the group, setting up with their backs to the empty Ryman seats and facing the group on stage. Among Blazy’s credits are co-writing “If Tomorrow Never Comes’’ with Garth Brooks.
He told the group: “It’s always been my dream to play the Ryman. Now I’ve got to refine that dream so next time I’ll wind up fac ing the audience!’’
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