North Platte man wins MPCC's project car

Jessie Perez of North Platte waves from the driver's seat of this year's MPCC raffle car, a 1967 Camaro RS 350/350. Perez was the holder of the winning ticket. (Courtesy photo)

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. -- We have a winner! Jessie Perez of North Platte is now the proud owner of the Mid-Plains Community College's 10th custom car project -- a '67 Camaro RS 350/350. His winning ticket was pulled by Lorna Bouzek Saturday afternoon at Colonel Cody's Show and Shine Car show in downtown North Platte.

Jessie was ecstatic when contacted by phone. Upon hearing the news, he and a number of family and friends was downtown North Platte in a matter of minutes to see his new car and celebrate his new acquisition.

For the first time, the NPCC Car raffle sold out their entire 6,000 allotment of tickets. According to college officials, only 150 tickets remained unsold on Saturday. They were gone by about 9:15 a.m..

"This year's raffle car truly toured the state of Nebraska this summer," said Chuck Salestrom, Area Associate VP for Public Information and Marketing. "The state allows us 90 days to conduct the raffle. So we started the week before the NebraskaLand Days celebration at a car show in Scottsbluff and attended major car shows Omaha, Kearney, and Fremont throughout the summer. But we also attended smaller shows in places like Seward, St. Paul and Culbertson. The car's final public appearance prior to this weekend was at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. By that time were so short of tickets there that we were restricted to selling daily allotments and were typically sold out by early afternoon.

This year's classic car was generously donated by Lorna Bouzek in memory of her son, Troy Bouzek, and sports a completely rebuilt 350 motor and turbo 350 automatic transmission under the hood. The sleek black interior allows the "Just Yellow" paint, Redline tires and Rally wheels to steal the show.

The North Platte Community College Foundation conducted the raffle with the proceeds to be used to purchase the next project and for Transportation Division scholarships.

Automotive-related vendors who contributed to the current project include Dave Smith Signs, the Car Doctor, JM Parts and Equipment, E.J.'s Outdoor Sports, Cohagen Battery, LKQ-Keystone and R&T Tire Service of Grant.

To learn more about the MPCC Transportation program offerings, please call (308) 535-3601 or click on www.mpcc.edu.