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Phil Hans of Middleburg, Florida has been diligently
purchasing our Corvette Raffle tickets for the past four years. On Thursday,
January 17, 2013, Phil and his wife Lorraine were drawn as the lucky winners of
the highly coveted 2013 Night Race Blue ZR1, a part of the General Motors fleet
and the personal car of Corvette Exterior Designer, Kirk Bennion. Phil’s
Corvette Raffle ticket, #997, was drawn from a sold out raffle pool of 1,994
tickets."Although winning the raffle was amazing, it was the staff that made it a really memorable time for the both of us. You have a great product and a superlative delivery team. This was truly an incredible experience and your staff made it that way. I can still remember everyone clapping and cheering as Larry drove me out of Corvette Boulevard in my ZR1 Corvette. I can tell you that smile still hasn't left my face! My dream has really come true thanks to the National Corvette Museum."
Prior to winning, Phil had plans to trade in his 1994 Admiral Blue Corvette for a 2004 Z06 Special Edition Corvette, and came very close to making the trade only a week before winning our raffle. Phil did end up selling the ’94 recently due to a lack of garage space for his new addition. Since picking up his prize, Phil says that he has been showing it off at every opportunity and has fallen in love with Corvettes all over again.
“I have been a Corvette fan since my youth,” said Phil. “As
a farmer growing up in Maryland, I was a bit of a motor head always working on
cars or farm machinery, when not doing farming chores. My first Corvette ride
was when my cousin stopped by the farm with her Army Ranger boyfriend who had a
brand new 1971 yellow Corvette with the LS5 motor and a 4 speed transmission.
We ventured out and of course we had to stop by my friend’s house to show off.
On the ride back, he stopped that Corvette right in the middle of a country
road and said, “you drive.” So, I excitedly got behind the wheel and felt the
power and rumble from that car right through my seat, up my spine and in to my
head. I was hooked on Corvettes forever from that moment on.”
The National Corvette Museum has been turning Corvette
dreamers into owners since 1997 when the first raffle was held. As a
501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation, the Museum holds a number of Corvette and
Camaro raffles each year, with varying odds and ticket prices, as a means to
raise funds for the Museum’s operations. Those interested in
participating may sign up for the Museum’s email newsletter to receive updates
on the next chance to participate at www.corvettemuseum.org. Tickets
can be purchased online, by phone and in person.
