Imagine you’ve just purchased a vintage vehicle that looks oh, so beautiful. As you lower yourself into the driver’s seat, hands gripping the steering wheel, you can’t help but make a little wish: Please start. Just let that motor turn over.

Charles E. Powell may have had a similar wish in October 2020 when he issued his President’s Challenge as a fundraiser for the Corbitt Preservation Association. Please, let those donations come in.

And come in they did. Nothing short of a Christmas miracle, according to Powell. Total donations, at his last count, stand at $18,390.

Powell set a goal of $5,000 and chose the month of October 2020 to issue the challenge for donations. Every person making a $50 donation received full membership to the organization as well as their choice of swag – t-shirt, hat, coffee mug or travel mug. The COVID-19 pandemic  caused the cancellation of all the shows and events that usually help to bring attention and donations to the Corbitt Preservation Association, whose mission since 2003 has been to keep alive the love for the trucks that were built in Henderson between 1899 and 1954.

Ken Stegall on behalf of the Corbitt Preservation Association and association president Charles Powell.

In a letter provided to WIZS, Powell provided an update as of Dec. 15, recalling the initial days of the challenge. “After it was announced in the middle of September people started donating right away,” he wrote. “We were doing well through the first two weeks of October, averaging $1500 a week,” adding that they were on track to meet the goal. And just when donations had slowed to a trickle, an anonymous fellow member made a matching donation: if the President’s Challenge raised $5,000, the anonymous donor would contribute an additional $5,000. “We got super excited then!” Powell stated in the letter. At that point, the challenge had raised about $3,000, but the chance to get the matching donation kick-started the giving and more donations came in.

“The last week we were up to $4000 and then it stopped again. At this point I was about ready to concede defeat,” Powell recalled. He and fellow CPA’er Ken Stegall were feeling dejected when, with just a couple of days left, the thing they had hoped for happened: “and just like that, we had OVER $10,000!”

A total of $2,080 came in the form of memorial donations for Lou Almand, who died in October. Through their work with the Vance County Historical Society, Almand and his wife, Anne, had been instrumental in making the first Corbitt show in 2002 a success. Her husband had requested that, instead of flowers, any donations were to go to the Corbitt Preservation Association, according to Powell.

The challenge itself, minus the $2,080 in memorials, stands at $16,310. In the spirit of true gratitude, Powell stated, “I can honestly say our people love and believe in the brand name of Corbitt. I will always be grateful and never again will I forget how much you love our group and what we are doing for Corbitt and the community. LONG LIVE CORBITT!”

It isn’t too late to make a contribution. Donations can be in the form of a check sent via mail, by PayPal or by credit card over the phone.

Checks may be mailed to CPA, PO Box 74, Henderson, NC 27536. If you wish to use PayPal, please email gjammer35@aol.com for an invoice. To pay by credit card, please call Ken Stegall at (252) 432-6476 or Charles Powell at (252) 767-2247 for assistance.

For more information, please visit The Corbitt Preservation Association’s Facebook page or website at www.corbitttrucks.com.