At Barrett-Jackson, Community, Charity Are Always High-Performance

 
 
 

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Futurliner. Photo courtesy of Barrett-Jackson.

Cars and community: For 45 years, Barrett-Jackson, The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions®, has celebrated both in classic style.

 


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Craig Jackson and Jeff Gordon. Photo courtesy of Barrett-Jackson.

The Scottsdale-based company, which marked its 45th anniversary this past January with the annual Valley of the Sun auction at WestWorld of Scottsdale, has raised $88-plus million for local and national charities to date, including $3.4 million this year.

“When my father, Russ Jackson, and his friend, Tom Barrett, held their first auction 45 years ago, with a few select cars in a hotel parking lot in Scottsdale, they could not have envisioned the world event that it has become,” says Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Scottsdale-based Barrett-Jackson, which also produces annual car auctions in Palm Beach, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; and the newest at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut this June.

“We’re honored to be able to help raise funds supporting a variety of charities, including our veterans and active service members and their families, cancer research at TGen in Phoenix, Childhelp and numerous other causes throughout the community,” says Jackson, who has twice been named to Motor Trend’s Top 50 Power List in the car industry.

This year’s Scottsdale lifestyle event saw 1,469 cars sold for $102-plus million. Many record-breaking sales were recorded, including a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Smokey and the Bandit Promo Car at $550,000 –– a record for any Trans Am sold anywhere.

Approximately 350,000 people came to town for the auction, including celebrities such as Jay Leno, Burt Reynolds, NASCAR greats Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, Mark Fields, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, and three-time Grammy winners and multi-platinum artists, Zac Brown Band.

To note the milestone and honor the company for its many contributions to the city and the Valley, Scottsdale Mayor W. J. Lane declared Jan. 24−30, 2016, “Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction Week.”

“I’m proud to call Scottsdale home,” Jackson said at the time, “and was honored to receive Mayor Lane’s recognition for our contributions to the community.”


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Craig Jackson and Jay Leno with Mark Fields of Ford and multiple sclerosis reps. Photo courtesy of Barrett-Jackson.

The Drive for Charity

Eleven cars were sold for charity in Scottsdale with 100% of the hammer price for each benefiting the deserving organizations. These were led by the 2017 Acura NSX VIN #001 donated by Acura to benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground; the supercar brought $1.2 million for the charities. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation serves 28,000-plus children in the United States, and Camp Southern Ground provides programs centering on superior nutrition, physical exercise and the latest therapies for youth.

A 2016 Ford Focus RS from Ford benefited the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, $550,000. The sale of a 2012 Dodge NASCAR No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge driven by Brad Keselowski during his 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship season went to the Paralyzed Veterans of America, and a 2000 Ford F-150 Harley Davidson Pickup presented to Jay Leno by Ford, helped the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

At last year’s 44th Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, $4.6 million went directly to the Armed Forces Foundation from the charity sale of Valley resident Ron Pratte’s 1950 General Motors Futurliner Parade of Progress Tour Bus. This represented the highest single-vehicle contribution in Barrett-Jackson history.

Two organizations with local roots and close to the Jackson family are TGen and Childhelp.

The sale of a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 for $75,000 benefited The Barrett-Jackson Cancer Fund At TGen In Memory of Russ and Brian Jackson, established in 2010. Craig’s father, Russ, and his older brother, Brian, both died from colon cancer, in 1993 and 1995, respectively.

“Craig Jackson and his team at Barrett-Jackson have provided the leadership necessary to bring TGen’s personalized medicine to the families that need it the most,” says TGen Foundation President Michael Bassoff in Phoenix. “We are grateful that Craig has chosen to honor his father, Russ, and brother, Brian, in this special way.”

Childhelp, the national nonprofit dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse, was particularly important to his brother Brian and mother Nellie, and it remains an essential part of the charity life for Barrett-Jackson after their deaths.

Through SEMA Cares and benefitting Childhelp, a custom 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Edition was sold in Scottsdale.

“Originating with Nellie Jackson, and living through the generous spirit of her son, Craig Jackson, the Barrett-Jackson auctions have raised millions of dollars to help fuel lifesaving intervention and treatment for abused children throughout the United States,” says Michael Medoro, chief development officer of Childhelp in Phoenix.

“Childhelp has directly impacted the lives of more than 10 million children nationally, and we could not have done that without the driving support of individuals like Carolyn and Craig Jackson and the support they give through the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction.”


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Craig Jackson, Zac Brown, Rick Hendrick and John Mendel.

Barrett-Jackson: 0 to 45 and Successfully Accelerating

Family patriarchs Russ and Nellie Jackson hopped in their ’50s Cadillac and moved from Michigan to Scottsdale in 1960, bringing their passion for classic cars, especially prewar 12- and 16-cylinder-powered Caddys. The co-founder of the original auction and also a car lover, Tom Barrett III, and his family had migrated to Scottsdale at about the same time.

After meeting and befriending, the two established the “Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes” car show in 1967, benefitting Scottsdale’s art center and library. The Barrett-Jackson Auction Company followed in 1971.

After the Jackson family acquired the company, the auction grew in numbers of cars, attendance and coverage. The Financial News Network televised part of the Scottsdale auction in 1994, later leading to the broadcast on Speedvision. Today the Barrett-Jackson auctions are live on Discovery Channel, Velocity and worldwide on Discovery Networks International, including Spanish-language broadcasts throughout Latin America and the United States.

In addition to the television coverage, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, live streaming of the auctions on Barrett-Jackson.com and the Beyond the Block app provide instantaneous coverage for the always-in-touch mobile and social world.

“I learned the business from the shop floor up,” Jackson says. In high school, he restored a 1968 427 Corvette and in the early 1980s an award-winning 1948 Delahaye. “I developed a passion for this industry and learned all of what it takes to put on these mega-events. And today, every day –– because we are the world’s greatest collector car auction –– we are also committed to remaining a great community partner.”

 

Barrett-Jackson, barrett-jackson.com, 480.421.6694