Pub. 58 2017-2018 Issue 1

7 FALL 2017 and Vice President for Public Affairs, Jonathan Collegio came down to join TADA Chairman Carroll Smith and Houston Auto Dealers Association Chairman Steven Wolf to visit flood damaged dealerships, neighborhoods where employees suffered a loss, and most importantly to deliver NADA Foundation funds to grateful employees. NADA has gone above and beyond in every way to help Texas and Texans. How fortunate we are that this great organization has our backs when we need it the most. Texas dealers throughout the state have also stepped up to provide money, supplies and relief to refugees from the storm and to their fellow dealers. One incredible example of dealers helping the community, as is their nature, was the acquisition of theworld’s largest barbecue pit whichwas staged at theNRGCenter, home of theHoustonTexan football team and a sanctuary for Harvey refugees for weeks after the flood. The brainstorm of Hondadealer MacDeLaup , he soonhad truck dealer Duane Kyrish in the fold to get equipment, supplies and sponsors from throughout the country to feed several thousand refugees a day in one of themost remarkable accomplishments of the Harvey saga. The supply list alone was beyond impressive. Here is how they described it when the pit arrived just 6 days after the hurricane reached landfall: HOUSTON(September 1, 2017) –Hur- ricane Harvey evacuees, first responders and volunteers can expect thewelcoming site of a 75-foot BBQpit arriving tonight at NRG Center to prepare hot, fresh meals throughout the week. “We’re still working out minor logistics and a host of other moving parts, but it has been amazing coordinating this ef- fort and truly one of the most satisfying things I have ever done for our commu- nity,” said Mac DeLaup of John Eagle Honda. “We expect to serve as many as 50,000 meals from this BBQ pit to the evacuees, first responders and volunteers of Hurricane Harvey.” Weighing 80,000 pounds and with 24 doors, the BBQpit can cook about 8,000 pounds of meat at one time. Refrigerated semi-truckswill arrive todaywith enough food for the first week of meals. Owners, Kimberly King and Terry Folsom of Brenham, TX, are delivering the ‘world’s largest BBQ pit’ and plan to cook on it, along with four other full time chefs travelling from Florida and Chicago. Orlando residents, Chef Bob Getchell of Gibsons Restaurants, John “Boodreaux” Baumann , and Benjamin Getchell , will lead the cook team along with volunteers including, Mac DeLaup, Jessica Rose, Lisa Rainoshek and other associates of John Eagle Honda. Gibsons Restaurant Group, Steve Lombardo and Bob Kanzler of Ch ic ago, ensu r ed t r uc k s w it h thousands of pounds of food and supplies were in route to NRG earlier this week. Baumann and Getchell met in New Orleans and made an 11 hour drive through the night to get to Houston to begin serving food tomorrow as early as lunch. The trailer was built in Louisiana and “BBQ Pits by Klose” built the cooker in Cypress, TX. Tobuild aBBQpit like this today would cost more than $1 million.  REBOUND HURRICANE HARVEY — CONTINUED ON PAGE 8