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Proceeds will go to the Gold Shield Foundation, an organization that helps spouses and children of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
By JENNIFER FARRELL
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 24, 2000
When dignitaries pile into an antique truck next February for the first official ride on the Suncoast Parkway, one seat will go to the owner of a $10 raffle ticket.
Proceeds will benefit the Gold Shield Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps the spouses and children of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
Gary Schraut, director of the foundation's Hernando chapter, said organizers are hoping to raise $25,000 to $50,000 by cashing in on the road's novelty.
"It's not like you're winning a million dollars," he said. "It's more about just the idea: Here's $10 for our ladies, our men, that are out there every day."
Technically, the raffle winner will not be the parkway's first passenger.
The road has seen a good deal of unofficial traffic, most notably from Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, who visited the area in November for a rally at Weeki Wachee Spring. Cheney's motorcade used a section of the expressway between Spring Hill Drive and State Road 50 to avoid the hassle of U.S. 41 and U.S. 19.
Whenever the state Turnpike District opens a new toll road, the state Department of Transportation traditionally rolls out the same 1927 work truck, known affectionately as "Old Number 1."
This time, it will lead a parade following the 5K run and bike ride that will highlight the Feb. 3 opening ceremony.
The route will begin on the parkway at State Road 52 in Pasco County. From there, organizers said, they are not yet sure which direction, or for how far, the parade will go.
"It's going to be a five-minute parade," said Joanne Hurley, spokeswoman for the parkway project. "This isn't Gasparilla here."
All proceeds generated through sponsorship fees, the run, bike ride and raffle will benefit the Gold Shield Foundation, after covering costs related to the opening ceremony.
The foundation was started in 1981 by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Each year, it raises about $100,000 from dues and fundraising events.
At Christmastime, the fund sends $100 savings bonds to the children of fallen police officers and firefighters.
Raffle tickets are available at Florida Boy's Barbeque, 915 W. Jefferson St., Brooksville; Coldwell Banker Schraut & Associates, 421 W. Jefferson St., Brooksville; and the Fraternal Order of Police, Local 164, 2489 Broad St., Brooksville.
The drawing is set for Jan. 15.