Michigan International Speedways Director of Guest Services Tim Booth was selected as the winner of the Humanitarian Award ahead of NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle, who were also finalists. For receiving the prestigious honor from The Home Depot and National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Booth will receive $100,000 that will be donated on his behalf to the Spirit of America Blood Drive. Booth, Stewart and Biffle were recognized during the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brother Awards program in Las Vegas on Thursday. Stewart and Biffle will be awarded $25,000 for their respective charities for being named as finalists.
Just to have been nominated is truly a great honor, and I am humbled, Booth said. The reality is this award is not about any one, single nominee or finalist, but rather about donating ones time for a cause that you believe in any amount of time and any cause will do. Its about giving, isnt it? So thank you to Home Depot and the NMPA for this great honor, and thank you for supporting my charity. Greg, Tony and I are all winners on our charities behalves.
Booth was nominated for the Humanitarian Award for his efforts in making the Spirit of America Blood Drive at MIS the nations largest 9-11 blood drive event. The Spirit of America has collected a grand total of 6,213 units of blood, potentially benefiting 18,639 people since its inception in 2002. (Each unit of blood can be transfused to up to three people.) Booth has made countless efforts to support various non-profit organizations in his community, but none as much as the Great Lakes Region of the American Red Cross. His creation of the Spirit of America Blood Drive, which began at MIS in 2002, was a way to honor the victims and heroes of September 11, 2001. The blood drives success caught the eye of the NASCAR Foundation, which has since created the NASCAR Foundation Blood & Marrow Drive, which is hosted at 30 race tracks across the country on September 11. Booth is also a regular blood donor who has personally given blood 146 times, which amounts to more than 18 gallons in his lifetime. The NMPA Home Depot Humanitarian Award was established in 2007.(MIS)(12-3-2009)
