¦ May 15, 2008
9th Annual Racing to Recovery Gala
And a Great Time Was Had by All!

On May 12, 2008, The Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation held its Ninth Annual Racing to Recovery Gala in Indianapolis. (Also see video clip on www.indycar.com video library section.)

Well over 400 people joined in the evening’s festivities, bidding on live and silent auction packages that included extreme racing experiences, racing memorabilia, vacations, artwork, jewelry, and much, much more.

A beaming Sam Schmidt thanked the guests, “It means a lot to me to see the entire community, just like a family, come out and support us every year, helping veterans and others with paralysis and ultimately finding a cure.”

On behalf of the Hulman-George family, Tony George accepted this year’s Partner for a Cure Award, presented to him by Sam Schmidt along with Ida Cahill, President of the Foundation. Sam noted that Tony and the Hulman-Georges had stepped up to the plate immediately after Sam’s injury and helped him in ways too numerous to mention, adding that the racing community is indeed a family. Sam praised the Hulman-George family for their investment in safety innovations such as the "Safer Barriers". Sam said of the Hulman-Georges, “Safety is number one. Their efforts have kept more injuries like this from happening and I have to applaud them for that.”

This year Mario Andretti received the Legendary Driver Award, joining previous recipients Michael Andretti, Rick Mears and Al Unser, Jr. Mario graciously accepted his award, saying that any accolades should go to Sam and the foundation for doing a tremendous job over the years to raise money for research and treatment of spinal cord injuries. He expressed admiration for Sam’s determination to stay active in the racing business after his injury, describing Sam as “a person who always does things first class, who does a great job as a car owner while never loses sight of what we are doing here tonight. Some day an answer (to paralysis) will be found.”

Ida Cahill stated, “The money raised will help fund spinal cord injury research, quality of life grants benefiting people with disabilities, the Day at the Races program, scholarships, and our advocacy efforts. It means a great deal to Sam and me to have people support our efforts so generously.”