¦ June 14, 2006
Hulman / George Family Host Guests of SSPF at the 2006 Indy 500

HULMAN/GEORGE FAMILY HOSTS 10 GUESTS AT THE 2006 INDY 500
FOR SAM SCHMIDT PARALYSIS FOUNDATION INDY JET PROGRAM

The Hulman/George family played host to 10 special guests of the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation’s (SSPF) Indy Jet Program during the running of the 2006 Indianapolis 500. This special group of guests attended the event and watched the race from the family’s Pagoda Suite at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway after donating a total of more than $110,000 to the Foundation.

Donations to the SSPF is directed towards funding scientific research, medical treatment, rehabilitation and technological advances to help individuals overcome spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders. The Indy Jet program is one of many that the SSPF has created over the years, most of them built around the world of motorsports and particularly IndyCar Series racing.

The Indy jet Program was conceived by Schmidt, founder of the SSPF and a spinal cord injury victim himself stemming from an Indy Car crash he experienced while preparing for the 2000 Indy 500.

Guests fly on a private jet from Las Vegas to Indianapolis where they are whisked away in a limo to beautiful downtown hotel accommodations. This year, Copart Auto Auctions from Fairfield, CA helped underwrite the cost of the private jet.

First class accommodations at the Omni Hotel, dinners at first-class restaurants with drivers, pace car rides around the Speedway, guided garage tours, photo sessions with drivers and celebrities, a tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, a special viewing area to watch the 500 Festival Parade are just part of the weekend’s festivities.

Guests also watch both the IndyPro Series Futaba Freedom 100 race on Friday and the Indy 500 on Sunday from the Holman/George Pagoda suite.

“It is difficult to believe that there is another VIP program for guests attending a race in this country that tops what our Indy Jet Program provides”, Sam Schmidt said. “This program has proven to be an exceptional fund-raiser for the Foundation, and we are indebted to the Hulman/George family for their courtesy and hospitality, and for providing the elements that enable us to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year from this one event”, Schmidt added.

Additional information on the Indy Jet program can be secured by calling the Foundation at 317-236-9999.

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