Raffle Winner Passes on a 1965 Corvette, Takes $50,000 Cash Instead

Like it has for so many fans of the Corvette since 1953, sometimes reality has to come roaring to the forefront.

Take Charlie Snook, for example.

He was recently chosen as the winner of the Stafford Fire Department’s 30th annual Corvette raffle in New York.

As he gazed at the beautiful 1965 Corvette, he said if it had been 20 years earlier, he would have kept the car. Now with silver in his hair, he elected to take the $50,000 cash prize instead. The money will send him and his wife on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii as well as pay off some unexpected bills that have come up, he said.

He’s turning down a stunning Corvette that, after a three-year restoration, has earned NCRS Top Flight awards as well as Bloomington Gold certification. The Corvette has a 327/350 engine, four-speed transmission, and air conditioning.

Ironically, Snook almost didn’t buy a ticket for the Corvette raffle. He thought he would get one on the Saturday of the carnival but didn’t make it. Then the next day’s weather on Father’s Day was terrible.

“Wind, mud, rain, I wasn’t even going to come,” Snook said. “Things like this don’t happen to me. They happen to other people.”

Snook and his wife ended up buying two books of tickets for $20 (15 tickets in each book), which just happened to include the eventual winner.

The annual raffle allows the Stafford Fire Department to operate its completely volunteer fire department and rescue squad.

Source:
The Batavian

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