The following news release was issued by P1 Groupe:
Tribute to Kappa Sigma Fraternity and Military Heroes Campaign Big Hit with Fans
Altamonte Springs, FL/September 8, 2014 – The downpour of showers that rained out much of the initial festivities of the race weekend did nothing to dampen the mood of Ryan Ellis as he prepared for the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway on Friday evening. Ellis had a large fan following as his car carried tribute signage of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity for a second consecutive year, thanks to several new sponsors onboard that made it all happen.
Ellis qualified his #93 JGL Racing Dodge Challenger in the 29th position, and immediately began picking off the competition. At one point moving up to the 21st position before coming across the stripe to take the checker flag 24th, the race was a strong showing for Ellis and his sponsors.
Prior to the race start, Ellis participated in a special check presentation by Kappa Sigma and its Military Heroes Campaign to Veterans Moving Forward, a non-profit charity that provides service dogs and canine therapy services to veterans with physical and mental health challenges at no cost to the veterans.
“We appreciate Kappa Sigma’s support of military service members, veterans, and their families,” states VMF founder and President Karen Jeffries. According to Jeffries, VMF spends as much as $35,000 to train and place a service dog, provided at no cost to disabled veterans. “There is a huge unmet demand for service dogs,” she explains. “Kappa Sigma now makes it possible for yet another veteran to receive one of these highly trained animals. This is life changing for the veteran and his or her family.”
Discussing both the race and the opportunity to represent Kappa Sigma on and off the race track, Ellis mentions; “The JGL team provided me a fast car all week, especially on the long runs, but we fell off a bit on the last run that cost us some positions. I was very proud to represent the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and the Military Heroes Campaign during a very important part of the year for them, college rush!
“I’m very thankful that our sponsors The Wilton Companies, Ashburn Pub, and Allsports Grand Prix helped us represent them and everything that Kappa Sigma stands for. I hope that every college student considers Greek options this semester and especially Kappa Sigma! I want to thank Gregg and Denise Mixon as well as James Whitener for the opportunity to drive their car, and look forward to doing so again in the future.”
Kappa Sigma’s Military Heroes Campaign, a primary program of the Fraternity’s A Greater Cause community service initiative, honors and aids the thousands of military veterans and their families in communities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Since its inception in 2007, the campaign has donated nearly $500,000 to non-profit organizations who advocate on behalf of servicemen and women and those wounded in combat. The Kappa Sigma Military Heroes Campaign logo adorned the hood of Ellis’s #93 Dodge Challenger on September 5 under the lights at Richmond International Raceway, which is the closest track to where Kappa Sigma was founded in Charlottesville, Va.
“Kappa Sigma Fraternity is proud to have such an outstanding alumnus as Ryan Ellis representing us in the world of professional sports,” said Mic Wilson, Executive Director of Kappa Sigma. “He is a shining example of a member whose fraternal experience extends far beyond his college years and individual chapter. Ryan exemplifies the values of our fraternity, and we are extremely grateful to him for providing the opportunity to display Kappa Sigma’s colors at Richmond International Raceway and highlight our Military Heroes campaign.”
About Kappa Sigma Fraternity
Founded in 1869 at the University of Virginia, Kappa Sigma Fraternity is the most preferred college fraternity in the world — with more than 18,000 undergraduate members on 319 college campus throughout North America, and nearly 200,000 living alumni. Each year, Kappa Sigma undergraduates donate more than $2 million and 1 million hours to charitable causes, pledge more than 9,000 men and welcome nearly 7,000 new initiates to the Order — the most of any college fraternity. The Fraternity teaches its core standards and values through educational programming around the four pillars of Fellowship, Leadership, Scholarship and Service. For more information, visit www.kappasigma.org.
About Veterans Moving Forward
Veterans Moving Forward, Inc., is a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code dedicated to providing service dogs and canine therapy services to veterans with physical and mental health challenges at no cost to the veteran. The organization’s vision is to be the premier national, not for profit organization for veterans seeking and receiving assistance/service for skilled companion dogs, to be the most effective and trusted resource to provide canine therapy for veterans, to optimize veteran employment in distributing service dogs to veterans to meet growing demands, and to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our veterans, increasing their safety and independence within their environment. For more information visit www.vetsfwd.org.
For more information on Ryan Ellis please view www.ryanellismotorsports.com, or www.p1groupe.com.
Follow us on Twitter: @ryanellisracing @P1Groupe @KappaSigmaHQ @vetsfwd
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