Page 8 - HWNewsletteVolume33Issue1#132

Collectors

Convention charity Button Bingo/charity code three cars from the 31st Annual Convention, the artwork, Hot Cases, RAOK’s,

nd event review 18th Annual Collectors Nationals as well as a set of this year’s Button Bingo NASCAR items and a host of
and Charity event cars. The other three prizes were graciously donated by
other custom creations. All of
Mattel’s Hot Wheels Design team. These prizes were a 2007 Factory Sealed you are what makes these
By Paul DiAngi
By Paul DiAngi Master Se,t a 2011 Super Treasure Hunt set which included all 15 supers events happen and continue to nd
presented in an accompanying display case and a complete HWC Collec- be successful! A huge thank
tors.com twelve car series 7 set plus metal carrying case. Raffle ticket sales you also goes out to our
contributed $4820.00 toward the charity total. designers, not only for their
time and presence but also
Our cornerstone event is the Charity Auction that was held on Friday for their gracious artwork, Collectors
evening. If you missed it, you may have missed a once-in-a-lifetime event. personal donations and
The auction is live with no reserve and your bidder card is your ticket to signatures that make these
securing a rare or unusual piece while helping raise funds for charity. This auction donations so unique and coveted. Convention button
year’s donations enabled us to present an unprecedented total of nearly 150
lots for auction throughout the evening. The auction alone raised a record Once the bidding began at the Charity Auction it became quite intense on bingo review
breaking $90,000.00 which is the “lions share” of this year’s total donation. some of the more unusual items. The room grew quiet as the bidders
How did we achieve this dollar total? The first part of the answer is “it’s continued to outbid one another and the dollar values climbed to record
because of you the collector/event attendee”. If we didn’t have your highs 5, 6, 7, $8,000.00 and beyond. (I did mention rare, unusual and one of By Paul DiAngi
continued donations and support year after year our auction lots wouldn’t a kind Mattel pieces!) Wow! Here is a sneak for everyone: You may see more The 32nd Annual Convention was held at the Marriot LAX airport, Los
be what they are and our contribution totals wouldn’t be anywhere near the of these types of items at the Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals auction in Angeles, Ca. Hot Wheels enthusiasts and their families enjoyed a memorable
current level. Thank you very much for your kind efforts that we appreciate the spring of 2019 in Lombard Illinois. fun-filled event. It was filled with educational seminars, autograph sessions,
and have come to rely on. games, races, kids events and lots of room-to-room trading just to mention a
Please note: Even though I list or mention the high dollar auction wins few of the activities. There was also an excellent selection of souvenir cars
The other huge reason is that Brendon Vetusky made it his personal mission there is something for everyone’s budget. We had quite a few items go available for purchase. These cars were only available at the Convention to
to save a great number of items that were going to be removed from the between $30.00 and $60.00. Please at least attend the auction. Bidder paid ticket holders. I hope you purchased your share of these desirable
Mattel storeroom along with a large number of items from Larry’s (Wood) cards are free and without obligation. It is a fun time and who knows, limited run collectibles to add to your collection, since most of the Conven-
cage. Brendon took it upon himself to secure and hold these items for the you might come away with an unexpected treasure. tion pieces were sold out at the event.
auction. If you were at the auction you had the exceptional opportunity to
see and or bid on many rare and unique items many of which were one of a Please consider this: We as collectors are proud to share and contribute Button Bingo is always a fun event. The code 3 cars are spectacular, very
kind! Let’s all extend a big thank you to Brendon for his effort, foresight and to those in need and this is quite obvious through your kind donations. limited and have become highly desirable to us collectors. Those lucky
desire to do good. Thanks to Coco Ding for the assistance that was given to Many of us don’t contribute because we think our donation may be
The 32ndAnnual Collectors Convention was an amazing gathering with our group during the sorting and lotting process. insignificant so let’s try to ramp up our total contributions by being players that pre-registered for Button Bingo at this year’s Convention
plenty of activities and fun for the entire family. The souvenir cars that creative as well as investigative. Many of our donations are non-Hot received a special Volkswagen Drag Bus. This bus came in light blue with a
commemorated this event, Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary, were just incredible I would like to thank the Mattel Design Team for donating the many unique, Wheel related such as quilts, mail boxes, hand blown glass items, yellow and red flame tampo. They were only available to those that
to say the least. I hope you all had as much fun in Los Angeles as I did. It was very rare and highly desired FEP’s and EP’s that accounted for 25 of our display cases, metal work and custom made items to mention a few. pre-registered. None of these were given out during any of the games. This
great seeing old friends and meeting the many new collectors that attended auction lots and consequently contributed a substantial portion of the Here are some suggestions: Check with your employers to see if they year we played for a spectacular selection of ’69 Plymouth GTX castings in
this convention as well as associating with the diehard collectors that are so auction dollars to the bottom line. Thanks to Collectors Events Unlimited for have a corporate gifting program. Many do and will share with product various colors. The game winner cars came in five different colors and were
important to this hobby. the complete set of this conventions code 3 Charity event cars that included or gift certificates. If you belong to a club donate an extra club car, all very low run pieces. Also included in the mix were a Volkswagen T-1 Drag
all of the alternate color dinner Camaro’s as well as all of the ’69 Plymouth ROAKS, or have some of your “crafters” do a one-of-a-kind custom or Bus in gold and a Volkswagen Drag Bus in pink for a total of seven possible
Our staff had the honor of donating time and effort to raise money for the GTX’s, VW busses and the Mob Rod trophy cars including their alternate display case. Consider artwork, signage, and wood working items as cars to win. This array of colors makes for some really exciting Button Bingo
32nd Annual Collectors Convention charity, which benefited the color variations. Let’s also offer a thank you to the Hot Wheels Newsletter well. We will do our best to give you (especially if it is a standalone games. Assure your spot and pre-register early, don’t leave it to chance.
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. Prior to the auction we for the low run alternate color of the Volkswagen Kool Kombi. Thanks to all item) or your group the proper acknowledgement when the item is
had the privilege of hearing a presentation from a representative of the of the collectors and clubs for your most welcome donations that we as staff auctioned. As the games progressed the eager participants in each session of the ever
Make-A-Wish Foundation describing how the donations assist the children have become accustomed to seeing, such as quilts, wine holders, framed popular Button Bingo Game were all trying to win not only the game winning
and families in need. gold car, but the very special and very limited alternate color game winner
cars that were also given out to each of the winners. The Button Bingo cars
Check this issue for reports on our other three events where they are
There are seven main functions that generate money for our charity. I would recapped and our hard working charity staff is acknowledged; Charity for this year were a set of red, white and blue ’69 Plymouth GTX’s. A player
have to say that a good number of us participated in at least one of these Button Bingo contributed $24,200.00, the Charity Poker Tournament automatically received these for purchasing a Button Bingo ticket and
activities. It is important to note that the dollars we collect from these events contributed $4,500.00 and Convention Mania contributed $3,600.00 to our playing in either one of the two, twelve-game sessions. If a player won they
go directly to the charity and nowhere else. Please continue to support the donation total. would receive a special gold ’69 Plymouth GTX to add to their set. Increas-
Charity events because it is through your participation we as a community of ing the excitement even further every game winner also received at least two
collectors can continue our history of goodwill. As we all know the cars No event can be successful without participants and with your help and additional very low run alternate color cars as well as a Volkswagen T1 Drag
received for playing our Charity games are very limited low run pieces. This generosity this year’s event is now part of our history of giving. This speaks Bus in gold or a Volkswagen Drag Bus in pink. The alternate colors of the ’69
not only enhances their collectability but it is your only opportunity to attain to all of you and what you are made of and why these events are so Plymouth GTX’s were yellow, lime, pink and bronze. Every game winner won
them at the Convention and the best part is the net proceeds go to help successful. We are a community of collectors that help one another and I am at least another three cars! Needless to say there were a lot of agonizing
those in need. moments until the lucky winner or winners, as was the case this year (multiple
very proud to be part of your group. Your dedication and support generat-
ed a combined total of a record breaking $145,435.00 from all charity winners per game) yelled “BINGO” and came up for their special prizes! Just
Our Charity fundraising car for this event was the Custom Mustang, events. Thanks to you all. See you at the next one! for the record, each game 12 winner received more than the three cars for
produced by Chris Walker aka Night Stalker. The car was well received and their win. How many you might ask? The answer is “play and see….”.
all 500 pieces were sold out prior to the start of the convention! It I would like to thank the Charity staff for all of their hard work and long Remember anything can happen in Button Bingo! Join in on the fun and
appears that a lot of attendees took advantage of the pre-order option. The hours that they dedicated to make this event a success. Barb, Dave and excitement at the upcoming Nationals and support a great charity. All of the
car came in black with a gold deco sporting a Make-A-Wish of Greater Los Jonathan Robles, Jerry Rousselle, and Marsha Di Angi were all invaluable to net proceeds from this game go directly to the charity that we support. We
Angeles logo and a Convention logo. It was packaged in a numbered acrylic the success of the charity fund raising events. hope to see you all again at future events.
case. This car was a big hit with the collectors and the demand far exceeded This event alone was responsible for a significant part of the total contribu-
the supply. To assure yours at future events you might want to consider Let’s all extend a big and well earned thank you to Collectors Events tion to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. I want to thank
pre-ordering. Those that waited came up empty handed at this event. This Unlimited LLC Mark & Jennifer Millhollin for their year long efforts and hard everyone that participated in any of the events that raised money benefiting
is also a great way to own a Night Stalker creation! Sales of the Charity car work to make these events a reality, for without them these events would this organization.
generated $15,000.00. We also added another $2,880.00 from the sale of not happen, and to Mike and Diane Strauss for their continued support and Please share your thoughts or your ideas about other games that you would
past event Charity cars foresight to create a venue for us collectors to gather and share the hobby. like to see played at these events. If you think the present games could be
. tweaked or enhanced kindly share your thoughts via “contact us” at
Raffle ticket sales were brisk with the hope of winning one of the six www.hwcollectorsnationals.com.
awesome prizes that were drawn during the Grand Finale. Three of the prizes
were donated by Collectors Events Unlimited. They were complete sets of NEWSLETTER • ISSUE 5
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