Pub. 57 2016-2017 Issue 3

22 the folks in Bastrop. The Lost Pines Toyota showroom is open to anyone who wants to participate in Gumbo Friday and be served hot Cajun style gumbo by Laurie Liriano herself. There are a lot of happy faces in the deal- ership that day and Carlos makes sure that they have a program that includes some worthwhile event for the citizens of Bastrop. Once a year the dealership throws a ca- sino party to raise funds for one of their signature charities, the Big Pink Bus. Depending upon the proceeds from the Play for Pink Casino Night, the Liriano’s stage a pink medical bus on the dealer- ship lot to provide free mammograms for uninsured or under insured women. Sponsored in conjunction with Austin’s Seton Healthcare Network, Lost Pines has been able to hold the event twice a year since its inception in 2014. The Casino Night raises funds from donations and a decorative bra auction sponsored by “Curves of Bastrop.” The party is lively and fun, but provides seri- ous money for a serious cause. At the November 2016 event, a cancer sur- vivor told her story of early detection from an exam on the Big Pink Bus. She said that she was cancer free today after multiple sur- geries and radiation treatments. Standing at a microphone in the packed showroom of Lost Pines Toyota, Patti Timmons thanked Laurie Liriano for literally saving her life. A number of women have received early detection of breast cancers through exams at the dealership which they would have otherwise not been able to afford. Every Texan, to a great degree, depends upon franchised car and truck dealers for their quality of life. Nowhere is that more evident than in Bastrop, Texas at Carlos and Laurie Liriano’s Lost Pines Toyota.   CARLOS AND LAURIE LIRIANO — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21