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ECHO Aims To Drive Up Donations

Tribune photo by D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

Bob Fiske of the Emergency Care Help Organization, shown with his Ford Model A, hopes for support from car enthusiasts.

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

dlwhite@tampatrib.com

Published: February 11, 2009

VALRICO - With donations down due to the poor economy, a Brandon charity is hoping an interest in old cars will lure new supporters.

The Emergency Care Help Organization will host its first Charity Car Show Feb. 21 in the parking lot of Lifestyle Family Fitness, 623 Oakfield Drive, Brandon, featuring antique, classic and custom cars from collectors throughout the Bay area.

ECHO board member Bob Fiske came up with the idea during a board meeting in which members were brainstorming for new ways to raise funding for the nonprofit agency.

Started by the Brandon Ministerial Association in 1987, ECHO provides food and clothing for residents in emergency situations. The organization, located at 507 N. Parsons Ave., currently serves about 30 families each weekday and depends entirely on community support, receiving no state or federal funding.

Fiske, 73, an ECHO volunteer for two years, is no stranger to fundraising. He spent 33 years with the YMCA, retiring in 1992 as the chief executive officer of the Central Branch YMCA in Philadelphia, the world's largest YMCA facility. While in that position, he created the Philadelphia Distance Run, now sponsored by ING, the premier half-marathon in the country for 31 years.

His retirement to the Sunshine State was short-lived, however.

"I thought I'd be able to stay home but, after three months, I had to do something," he said. He went to work for Robert Half Finance & Accounting as a senior consultant in its nonprofit division. One of his clients, Gulfside Regional Hospice in New Port Richey, was in need of a CEO. Fiske stepped into the position, building the organization into the largest hospice in Pasco County.

Two years ago, Fiske, who moved to Valrico with his wife, Adrienne, in 2002, left full-time work to become a consultant and began looking for volunteer opportunities.

"I felt ECHO was a worthy and important agency for the community, and decided to see what I could do to help," Fiske said.

In his youth, Fiske drove sports cars in road rallies for fun, and he said he's always been interested in cars. Then, two years ago, he purchased a restored 1929 Ford Model A reminiscent of the car gangsters used during Prohibition.

The four-cylinder, 49-horsepower vehicle, with its original beveled-glass rearview mirror and dashboard, can go up to 50 mph. The original price tag off the assembly line was $670. Fiske prefers not to say how much he paid for it two years ago.

"It's just fun to drive around," he said. He lends it out for weddings, Gatsby parties and old-fashioned photos. He also joined the Tampa Bay Model A Restorers Club and the Antique Automobile Club of America, and he frequently takes his Model A to car shows.

He said that's how he got the idea to host the car show fundraiser for ECHO.

"Car shows are very popular," he said. "Car enthusiasts love to show off their cars."

Fiske has space for about 80 antique, vintage, classic, late-model and custom cars at Lifestyle Family Fitness, which is co-sponsoring the event, and about half the slots are filled already. The registration fee is $15 per car. Cars must arrive between 9 and 10 a.m. The public is welcome at 10 a.m., and the show ends at 3 p.m.

A disc jockey will play music from the 1950s, and there will be entertainment by local dance troupes, gymnasts and baton twirlers, a bake sale by ECHO volunteers, peanuts for sale by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon and other vendors.

Fiske is still looking for corporate sponsors to donate anything from in-kind services to $1,000 sponsorships. Sponsors will receive drawing tickets, car show goodie bags, their names on promotional materials and T-shirts, signage at the car show and passes to Lifestyle Family Fitness.

"It's a big mistake for businesses to stop donating or sponsoring during a recession," Fiske said. "It only further hurts the economy, it damages the business' reputation. This is the time when businesses should step up to the plate."

For information, call Fiske at (813) 651-5141 or register at www.echofl.org.

ECHO CAR SHOW

WHAT: The Emergency Care Help Organization's first Charity Car Show

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 21

WHERE: Lifestyle Family Fitness, 623 Oakfield Drive

REGISTRATION FEE: $15 per car. There's room for 80 cars; half of the spots are taken.

INFORMATION: Call Bob Fiske at (813) 651-5141 or register at www.echofl.org.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524.

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