Illinois couple wins first annual Dick Vitale Super Sixteen Basketball Bash
LAKEWOOD RANCH - A larger banner hung outside the home of Dick Vitale welcomed Charlie and Tammie Johnson.
Inside, college basketball’s preeminent color commentator was hunkered down for his sport’s showcase event.
Naturally, Dickie V was amped.
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“I asked his wife,” Tammie said, ‘“do you give him a Red Bull every day?’’ ’
A night with Dick Vitale
The Dick Vitale Gala has become an annual event to raise money for pediatric cancer research. If the response was any indication, the 82-year-old’s Super Sixteen Basketball Bash will join the Gala as a yearly happening.
To capitalize on the national interest in March Madness, the ESPN college hoops announcer and Lakewood Ranch resident extended a chance for two people to join him last Friday at his home to watch the NCAA tournament. Included was round-trip airfare to Sarasota, two nights at an area hotel, an evening dinner cruise out of Marina Jack, and a $200 Visa gift card.
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A common cause
A minimum donation of $100 per entry was required to participate in the raffle. Tammie Johnson, who lives in Algonquin, Illinois, with her husband, regularly enters the raffles Vitale has at his Gala.
“I do it because the money goes to kids with cancer,” said Tammie, who owns her own construction company. “I do a lot of stuff for local (Algonquin) kids who have cancer. It’s out of my own pocket because I feel like it’s not their fault they got this. They haven’t even lived their lives yet.”
'Is this legit?
Seeing Vitale’s announcement on his Facebook page, Tammie decided to purchase 50 raffle tickets, a cost of $5,000. Last Wednesday, she received an email informing her she had won the raffle. It didn’t, however, come from Vitale, and Tammie didn’t recognize the sender. “I was reading it and talking to my oldest daughter,” she said. “I get spam all the time, and I was saying, ‘Is this legit?’’’
Indeed, it was. Charlie and Tammie flew into Sarasota, then drove to Vitale’s home. Carrying roses, they were met at the door by Vitale’s wife, Lorraine. Soon, the television was tuned to a tourney game, and Tammie was being smacked on the arm by Vitale, who wanted to talk sports.
“They were so nice and accommodating,” Tammie said. “I just think Dick is a wonderful man for what he’s doing. Just wonderful.” Tammie said Charlie and she would return to Sarasota in May for the 18th Annual Dick Vitale Gala.
At $100 a ticket, Vitale’s Sweet Sixteen Basketball Bash raised $100,600 to benefit the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Five-thousand of that came from Charlie and Tammie Johnson, two of Vitale’s biggest PTPers.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Dick Vitale Super 16 Basketball Bash: Illinois couple win first event
