The latest news from the Ronnie Sox Foundation
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December 26, 2009 Every year the Ronnie Sox Foundation works diligently towards helping the Children at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Ronnie's memory. This fight is made possible by the generous support of the loyal Sox & Martin fans and the incredible sponsors. I am asking you, today, to take a stand against cancer again by helping the Johnson family (Tommy Johnson, Jr. and Melanie Troxell) by purchasing a copy of Tommy Johnson, Sr.'s Cancer Book. Below is a link to read more about Tommy, Jr.'s request for support of his Dad's book. Tommy has DRAW and Racer's for Christ wanting to help. Needless to say, they are off to a great start with those two behind them. I have mailed a personal check for several copies of the book. I would kindly ask you to support the Johnsons with a book purchase or by simply spreading the word about the book. Every effort counts... Unfortunately, at some time or another, we have all lost a loved one to this dreadful disease. I for one am looking forward to reading the book and supporting the Johnson family. Tommy Johnson Jr. Cancer Book As always, I thank you for whatever support you can lend the Johnson family. God bless, Diane Sox |
September 28, 2009 Memphis, TN Russ Flagel, Randy Bolig and myself presenting the $80,000 check for the Hemi raffle to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Unfortunately, Buddy was unable to attend because his mother had just passed away. Buddy, being the gentleman that he is would not hear of the presentation being cancelled until another time. I would kindly ask that everyone keep Buddy and his family in thought and prayer during this difficult time. 
Diane Sox |
September 3, 2009 To date, the following additional winners have not come forward to claim their prize nor have I had success in contacting them directly. If one of the winning numbers below belongs to you, please contact me at www.ronniesox.com or at 804-740-0315 as I certainly want to fulfill my obligation to you for your generous support of the Ronnie Sox Foundation's Hemi Raffle. All prizes claimed have been shipped VIA UPS Ground so if for any reason your number does not appear here and you have not received your gift I would appreciate your contacting me as well. Again, words could never say thank you enough to everyone who supported this endeavor. God bless you. 0111 1383 2391 0646 1638 1049 Diane Sox |
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August 26, 2009 MY HEARTFELT THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF THE HEMI RAFFLE It is hard for me to believe a year has passed since we began the Hemi raffle. It is even harder to believe the final winning ticket for the Engine was drawn on August 9, 2009 at the Mopar Nationals in Columbus, OH. The winner ticket belonged to Rick Derheim of North Dakota. WOW, I continue to be overwhelmed with emotion and have to pinch myself every day. The Foundation achieved a major dream by raising $80,000 for the Children at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Ronnie Sox's honor. This dream came true thanks to the support of everyone involved. Buddy Martin, Russ Flagle, Shafi Keisler, Randy Bolig and the extremely loyal Sox & Martin fans. So many sponsors know first-hand that I am a woman on a mission to honor the "love of her life", his exceptional legacy and, most importantly a cause that was very dear to Ronnie's heart, the Children at St. Jude. There are so many people whom I need to extend my heartfelt thanks to for helping the Foundation reach this goal. They are as follow: First, it goes without saying, the dedicated Sox & Martin fans deserve a tremendous amount of credit for their unwavering support and continued loyalty to Ronnie and his legacy. I personally extend my heartfelt thanks to Shirley Kvatek of MCG for being a true friend and taking an interest in the Foundation and what we have been trying to accomplish. Shirley went so far as to introduce me to so many of her vendors including, Shafi Keisler, Rick Gorski, Bob Grosser and Tom Zietlow just to name a few. Shirley, you are truly a special lady with a huge heart. I feel blessed as well as honored that we became friends and I owe a lot of gratitude to you in helping make one of the Foundation's dreams come true. Kudos to the incredible sponsors who joined our team to help when they heard about our dream to raise $80,000 for the Children this year. I extend a tremendous amount of gratitude to the following sponsors: Russ Flagle at Indy Cylinder Head Shafi Keilser of Keisler Engineering Rick Allison of A & A Transmission Sam Davis of Tube Technologies, Inc. Ray Angelelli of Mancini Racing Rick Gorski of FireCore50 Darrell Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Gibson Guitar -- special recognition for this prize goes out to Stan Hardcastle in coming up with this idea and getting in touch with Gibson along with having the guitar autographed by Alan Jackson Rob Wolf of Mopar Collector's Guide Roy Hill Bob Grosser Al Kvatek of Valley Vintage Auto Parts Carmen Clites owner of Steer & Gear Tom Zietlow & Duane Schneider of Van's Auto Bob George of Bob George Racing Jeanette Ladina of Flaming River Mr. Patrick of Royal Purple Ed Stroka of R2C Competition Filters Bob Schrimer of Glen Ray Radiators Mike Miller of Miller Performance Todd Werner Bill Sefton; and BUDDY MARTIN, for always providing his unwavering support especially these last three years since Ronnie's passing, his friendship, advice and most importantly, my partner for the Ronnie Sox Foundation. In concluding, I want to thank my employer, Hunton & Williams, LLP and in particular, Bill Gray who handled all the Ronnie Sox Foundation's 501(c)(3) along with special thanks being given to Ed White and Janet Cho the Foundation's trademark and intellectual property attorneys. Without all of you, none of this would have been possible. I am so proud to work for such an awesome law firm who is 100% dedicated to its employees and more importantly giving back to the community. To all the attorneys who purchased raffle tickets in support of my efforts, thank you!! Congratulations to Stacy Colvin one of our in-house counsel on winning one of the additional four $50 gift certificates donated by Mancini Racing. I understand she and her husband are not sure what to purchase therefore, they will be giving the gift certificate to a family member for the holidays. Again, words alone cannot express how much your support of my efforts to honor Ronnie and the Children of St. Jude's mean to the Foundation and me personally. I know in my heart that God will bestow many blessings upon all of your for your unwavering support and generosity. You are amazing people and your support will help save lives! How wonderful it is to fight a disease and truly make a difference. All my best, The Boss' Wife, Diane Sox August 17, 2009 Hemi Raffle winners list ADDITIONAL PRIZE WINNERS FOR THE RONNIE SOX FOUNDATION'S 426 HEMI RAFFLE ARE AS FOLLOWS: Some ticket stubs did not have phone numbers or clear addresses so PLEASE contact me at ronniedianesox@verzion.net if you have not heard from me or received your gift.
Diane Sox August 9, 2009 - Mopar Nationals Ronnie Sox Foundation 426 Hemi Raffle THE WINNER OF THE 426 HEMI drawn for in Columbus, OH last weekend at the Mopar Nationals is RICK DERHEIM of North Dakota. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all of the sponsors (who will be listed along side each prize winner) of this endeavor along with the many loyal fans of Sox & Martin. I am awaiting confirmation from the other prize winners and as soon as everyone has claimed their prizes an entire list of individuals, sponsors and the prize they won will be listed here. Thank you for your patience while the remaining prize winners come forward. Diane Sox September 9, 2008 Updated January 21, 2009 Additional Prizes Already Received for the 2009 Hemi Engine Raffle Below I have listed additional prizes I have received for the Hemi raffle and from what I am hearing I can anticipate more to come. The chance of winning another great prize, if not the Hemi, is increasing each day. As the additional prizes come in I will keep you informed by updating this list. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has contributed to this endeavor so far with prizes and/or by purchasing a raffle ticket. Diane Sox May 30 - 31, 2009 25th Annual Midwest Mopars in the Park I had the distinct pleasure of being a part of one of the largest Mopar shows in the Midwest to promote the Ronnie Sox Foundation. This Mopar show caters to all Mopar enthusiasts. If you're a Mopar fan and were unable to attend the event this year you'll definitely want to mark your calendar for next year.
The Midwest Mopar Club is a club that not only works hard, but they play just as hard. This was my second event with this Club and each time I can honestly say it just keeps getting better. Al Meehan and wife Becki hosted a Barbecue for all club members, celebrities and others on Friday night. A good time was had by all and the Barbecue was exceptional!
Last but not least, I thank Russ Flagle as always, for his graciousness in having the 426 Hemi engine present , Clark & Colleen Rand, Fred & Dianne Engelhard for their hospitality in bringing the original Sox & Martin vehicles for display along with the replica of the Sox & Martin Truck Hauler.
Again, my heartfelt gratitude to everyone for their support of my efforts to honor the "love of my life" by helping the Chidlren at St. Jude. For more photos of the event please visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnhotrods/sets/72157618960959027/ Diane Sox April 21, 2009
During the running of the NHRA AC Delco Nationals in Gainesville, a prominent member of the Pro Stock community stated that "When Rodger Brogdon started qualifying in Pro Stock, it would be like opening up Pandora's Box." During the running of the Summit Racing equipment Southern National's at 'Georgia's House of Speed' this weekend that box was opened, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Pro Stock field. Roger Brogdon, at the wheel of Steve Kent's Pontiac GXP, now cloaked in Charter Communication colors, ended qualifying in the lucky number 13 position at the Southern Nationals with a 6.624, 208.94 mph effort. In twelve Pro Stock starts, Rodger has now been in the field four times on Sunday, this time lining up against recent Houston winner Ron Krisher in round one. Against Krisher, Brogdon got off the line first with a .056 reaction time to a .082 for Krisher, and then held on to win the race by .008 on a hole shot, 6.667 to Krisher's quicker 6.649. "That felt great," said Brogdon after the run, "looks like all the work this team has put in is finally paying off." In round two, Brogdon had to face off against another Cagnazzi powered machine, that being the Chevy Cobalt of reigning champ Jeg Coughlin. Jeg won the second round matchup in a good close race (6.646 to a losing 6.668), but back in the pits you would have thought it was Brogdon headed for the semi finals. "We've got ourselves a race car boys," was Rodgers ecstatic cry back in the pits. "Do we have to skip next weekend," he asked no one in particular, "I'm ready to go three or four races in a row!" With a week off before the O'Reilly Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, the team will converge on the Cagnazzi race shop to continue working on and refining the Charter Communications Pontiac GXP. Several changes are in store as crew chief Tommy Utt continues to get a handle on the car and with the improvements this team has shown in just four short races, don't look for anyone to put the lid back on Pandora's Box anytime soon. Diane Sox April 21, 2009 Byron Charles Russell, lll better known as "Tripp" is the grandson of Jerry Coley who use to run Phenix Dragway in Phenix City, Alabama where Ronnie and Buddy raced many times back in their heyday. Poppa Jerry as Tripp and his brother Wilson refer to him is now working with the Rodger Brogdon/Steve Kent Pro Stock team which did very well this past weekend in Atlanta. Tripp is home from Iraq and enjoyed himself at the Atlanta race this past weekend along with his Aunt Kathy and Poppa Jerry. Kathy owns her own advertising firm and has helped the Ronnie Sox Foundation out with promotional ideas. Tripp is now stationed at 29 Palms near Los Angeles. I kindly ask that you please join me in welcoming Tripp home from Iraq along with extending to him and all of our US Military Men and Women a Million thanks for their Sacrifices, Dedication and Service to our Country! Diane Sox March 19-22, 2009 A Message to all the Fans and Sponsors from Mopars at the Strip in Las Vegas I would like to thank all the fans who turned out for Mopars at the Strip this year (especially in light of the economic situation of our economy) and for their purchase of the Hemi raffle tickets. I sold 300 tickets that weekend!!!!!!! I cannot express enough my heartfelt gratitude to Russ & Fred Flagle along with the entire Indy Cylinder Head staff for all they have done and continue to do for the Ronnie Sox Foundation. Randy Bolig, Editor of Mopar Muscle, deserves a huge amount of credit for coming up with this brilliant idea along with constantly promoting it in his magazine. I extend credit also to my friend Shirley Bencaz-Kvatek of Mopar Collector's Guide for introducing me to so many of the wonderful sponsors who, I might add, did not hesitate to come came aboard to support this endeavor, Rob Wolf, owner of MCG for always promoting the raffle in his magazine and all the truly amazing fans and generous sponsors. My only regret for the Mopar show in Vegas this year was that Buddy Martin, none other than the infamous other half of Sox & Martin and a true friend could not be present to help promote the raffle. But, in Buddy's defense, his mother turned 94 that weekend and, as Buddy put it "he wasn't going to miss that for anything." Some other highlights of the event in Vegas are as follows: CHIP FOOSE: Overhaulin  Chip Foose and Diane Sox I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and talking with Chip Foose while in Vegas last week. What a great guy Chip is both on and off TV. I'm sure most race fans have tuned into his show "Overhaulin". Even though Chip had a pretty long line of fans waiting for his autograph he graciously stepped away when the announcer for the track wanted to introduce me to him. Chip expressed his condolences to me and commended me on what I was doing with the Ronnie Sox Foundation in Ronnie's memory. Chip further told me that he could relate to my loss as he had lost a sister to disease called Progeria. Chip's Foundation in memory of his sister is the Progeria Research Foundation. I hugged Chip and, I too, extended my condolences to him. I further advised Chip that several fans said if they were to win the engine they were going to donate it back to the Foundation to be re-raffled. I told Chip if this were to happen that I was going to raffle the Hemi a second time and donate all proceeds to the Progeria Research Foundation in his sister's memory. For those of you who are not familiar with Progeria it is a rare genetic disorder that strongly resembles the normal human aging, but it occurs in children. For more information about Progeria, please visit www.progeriaresearch.org. I hope in supporting the Ronnie Sox Foundation you will also take a look at possibly supporting the Progeria Research Foundation in Chip's sister's memory. CHRIS JACOBS: The Hub Garage If you have not met my friend , Chris Jacobs of The Hub Garage, you can always catch him on his very popular TV show The Hub Garage. Chris is not only a super nice person and personable young man, but he is extremely good at his job and his TV show is one not to miss. Chris and Chip Foose being in attendance at Mopars at the Strip this year made the event a huge success. The fans, as were my friends, were in awe to meet both these fine young men. I owe a heartfelt thank you to Chris Jacobs as upon our initial meeting last year at the All Chrysler Event in Carlisle he befriended me and quickly offered to add the Ronnie Sox Foundation as a link to The Hub Garage. It is always great seeing Chris and I extend a heartfelt thank you to him for all his support of my efforts. Chris was very gracious when I asked if he would have his picture made with my friends from California and Canada who were in awe to meet him in person. I'm lucky in that I get to see Chris at various events, but for my friends this was a big treat for them. So, thanks again Chris for making my friends day.  Art & Jan Peterson, Chris Jacobs from The Hub Garage, and Pat & Bill Knight at Mopars at the Strip MICHAEL OGBURN: West Coast Hemis Super Stock Team Owner I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Ogburn, owner of the West Coast Hemis Super Stock Team. Michael commended me on the way I chose to honor Ronnie's memory by helping St. Jude along with saying he knew Ronnie would be very proud of me. Michael then wrote the Foundation an extremely generous check. I became so overwhelmed with emotion that all I could do was hug him with tears in my eyes and thank him from the bottom of my heart. This type of generosity, especially in our economic times, proves to me that the "love of my life" will forever be in the forefront of the racers out there today. If you see Michael around the race track, please express to him just how much his generosity touched Mrs. Sox's heart! What an honor to meet such an incredibly compassionate man. Salute to the West Coast Hemis Super Stock team and owner, Michael Ogburn.  Don Bales and Diane DON BALES: West Coast Super Stock Hemis My friends, Art & Jan Peterson from California said one of their good friends who is also with the West Coat Hemis Super Stock Team wanted to meet Ronnie Sox's wife as he was and always will be a Ronnie Sox fan. When Art & Jan introduced me to Don he was so excited and he immediately wanted to get me into his race car and, as you can see, I gladly did so. What another honor it was to meet such a huge Ronnie Sox fan. Thanks, Don for being a loyal Ronnie Sox fan and it was a pleasure meeting you and a thrill to enjoy sitting in your race car. Although speed is not my thing, what I would have given to have made a burnout in that car... To date, 2008 tickets have been sold and we have five more months to go before the drawing date. Please help make this endeavor for the Children a huge success. If we were to raise $80,000 for St. Jude just think how the "BOSS" would be smiling down on us. To order your tickets, go to www.ronniesox.com/news2009, visit me at any show that I will be attending, or simply write to me at the address on the website's contact page and send your check payable to the Ronnie Sox Foundation and I will promptly get your ticket(s) out to you. Diane Sox March 7-8, 2009 I had the extreme privilege of being invited to Indy Cylinder Heads 14th Annual Chrysler Performance Trade and Swap Meet. I was in total awe at how huge this event was and the amount of people that came through. I sold 217 raffle tickets (in one day) along with picking up two more additional prizes for the Hemi raffle. Sam Davis, President of Tube Technologies, Inc. donated a set of headers and Dave Hines, owner of Muncie Dragway donated a FREE Dyno session. Dave, even said if he were to win the Hemi he would donate it back to the Foundation to be raffled off again. This event was not only fun, but prosperous for the Foundation's Raffle. To be very frank, my head is still spinning by the extreme generosity of Russ and Fred Flagle in not only building the 426 Hemi but in "giving" it to the Foundation to raffle. In my opinion, this generosity is a true testament of how much people are behind my efforts to honor the "love of my life," his legacy, and most importantly, a cause that was very dear to his heart, the Children at St. Jude. Simply put, there are no finer gentlemen than Russ and Fred Flagle!!!! I also would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Shirley Kvatek of MCG for the exceptional hospitality she and husband Al extended to me during my stay at Indy. Shirley and I have become good friends and I am truly grateful for all that she has done and continues to do for the Foundation. Johnny Mopar, I've said it before and I'll say it again, YOU'RE THE MAN!!! Words could never convey my heartfelt gratitude to you for always giving me air time to promote Ronnie's Foundation, and the importance of Awareness and Early Detection are for Prostate Cancer. God bless you my friend! You will always have a special place in my heart, next to Ronnie's place, of course. Lastly, I enjoyed seeing Monte & Cindy Bailey along with Jim & Cindy Kramer at Russ' event. The Bailey's, as you may know, sponsored Ronnie when he drove the Pro Stock Truck. Jim & Cindy are the ones who put on the All Hemi Reunion last year. I was honored when they invited me to attend this very special event. Words cannot describe the emotion felt when I saw so many of Ronnie's original cars along with being in the presence of so many of Ronnie's fellow racers/legends. Diane Sox February 6-8, 2009 I attended the World of Wheels event in St. Paul , MN as the guest of the Midwest Mopars Club, and, I might add, it's the Midwest's Premier Mopar Club. Despite the state of the economy, there was a huge crowd along with a ton of exquisite cars. I raised $1,500 in a day for the Ronnie Sox Foundation. I truly enjoyed meeting Al Meehan, his family, all the Club members, seeing the beautiful cars and, most importantly, interacting with the Mopar fans. I owe a huge amount of gratitude to Al Meehan and Marigale Prokop for the wonderful hospitality they both extended to me during my stay. This is an awesome Mopar Club and I urge you to visit the Club's website and, better yet, to join this Club. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!! Check out their website at www.midwestmopars.com you can even join through their site. Diane Sox February 2, 2009 I am elated to learn that the Hot Wheels miniature die-cast of Ronnie's Barracuda has arrived in stores. Buddy and I can't thank Mattel enough for the privilege of working with them on this endeavor. We were both honored when Mattel requested our approval to reproduce these cars in honor of Ronnie. Mattel gave Buddy and I an allotment of the cars, which we have decided to share with the children at St. Jude when we present the winnings of the Hemi raffle in August. We hope that everyone is successful in finding a Barracuda car in Wal-Mart, etc. Ronnie would be honored by this gesture as a way of remembering his compassion for these children. Diane Sox & Buddy Martin |
January 21, 2009 Letter sent to Darrell Waltrip and his reply: Hi Darrell My name is Diane Sox, the widow of the late great drag racer Ronnie Sox. I am writing to ask for your help. Ronnie passed away in 2006 from complications due to prostate cancer. I founded the Ronnie Sox Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, along with the help of Ronnie's racing partner Buddy Martin. The goal of the Foundation is to help the children at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in memory of Ronnie and to spread the word about the importance of Awareness and Early Detection for Prostate Cancer. When first diagnosed, Ronnie was given one year to live. However, we sought out other doctors and Ronnie lived 5 years. During Ronnie's battle with cancer the compassion he showed for the children at St. Jude greatly warmed my heart. Here the "love of my life" was fighting for his own life, yet his comment to me one day after a very grueling chemo treatment and later seeing a commercial for St. Jude was, "Diane, I have lived 67 years and I have had a great life. Those poor kids may never see 67, much less live a great life. It breaks my heart knowing, first hand, what those kids are having to endure with chemo." Darrell, that comment was etched in my heart and is the reason I founded the Ronnie Sox Foundation. This is my way of honoring "the love of my life" and his wonderful legacy. Stan Hardcastle, Events Director, with the Music City Mopar Club, mentioned that he had spoken with you about supporting our fundraising efforts. I hope that you might still be interested. Russ Flagle of Indy Cylinder Heads graciously built a 426 Hemi Engine and donated it to the Foundation to raffle in an effort to help us raise money for St. Jude's this year. Other supporters have donated prizes to enhance this raffle, including a complete 4-speed transmission. Just yesterday, I received confirmation that Gibson Guitar is donating a guitar, which Stan will try to have signed by recording artists. I was hoping that I could count on you for a donation along with your getting some of the other NASCAR drivers to donate. Last year, Richard Petty donated a Simpson fire suit to help the Foundation and we raised $6,000 alone for that suit. I pray that you will hear me as a woman who dearly loved and will always love her husband and is honoring his memory by helping kids with cancer. I am turning to you because Ronnie had the utmost respect for you, Richard, Dale, Dale, Jr., your brother and so many more. The last year of Ronnie’s life we were home bound and we enjoyed watching and listening to you and Benny on Fox. Our TV stayed on NASCAR, Drag Racing and Golf. If you would like more information about the Foundation please visit our website at www.ronniesox.com. I may be reached at dsox@hunton.com or ronniedianesox@verizon.net. My telephone numbers are home (804) 740-0315 or cell (804) 212-9620. Again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your time. Best regards, Diane Sox Diane I forwarded your e mail to my office in Charlotte, and instructed them to send you something for the foundation, I so much appreciate how you are carrying on Ronnie's memory and his passion . Stan Hardcastle is a friend of mine and he told me about you , he's a good man and a good friend , anyway glad I could help, let me know how it goes please and God Bless you and your efforts . Darrell Waltrip Darrell sent an autographed Specially-designed Chrome Helmet along with a Letter of Authenticity. |
January 15, 2009 
Diane Sox |
January 13, 2009 I received an email tonight from Hemi Fred advising that Kevin Christner, owner of the original MOTOWN MISSLE car passed in his sleep last night. At this time, no further information is available. I extend my sincere condolences to Kevin's family. I would also ask that you keep his family close in prayer too during this very difficult time in their life. RIP Kevin. Diane Sox |
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