17 YEARS OF BUYING RAFFLE TICKETS FINALLY PAYS OFF.
Ira Rosenberg listens to the Mike Calta show on radio station 102.5, The Bone, every day. Seventeen years ago, Calta began promoting the Strawberry Festival New Corvette Giveaway in partnership with Stingray Chevrolet. “He is always talking about Stingray and the raffle tickets,” Rosenberg said. Since the raffle began, Rosenberg bought either two or four of the tickets every year. On Monday, March 2, “I was on I-4 coming home, and I said, ‘I might as well buy my tickets here at Stingray,’” Rosenberg recounted. “So, I came in here and bought four tickets. On March 8, at 5:10 p.m., I was at my son’s house in Brandon, and just came home from the pool. I get a call from Galvin from the Mike Calta Show—best phone call I ever got—telling me, ‘You won!’ The ticket number I won on, if you look at it in reverse, is the year I was born on. Thank you to Stingray for running the raffle, and Unity in the Community for running the charity.”
The raffle sold 67,000 tickets, so since Rosenberg bought four tickets, he beat the 1 out of 16,750 odds to win. This year, Stingray changed things up and donated a Corvette Z06 coupe 1LZ that had a sticker price of $123,985. This is the top model, and it retailed for $40,000 more than last year’s Corvette. It is the most expensive vehicle Stingray has given away. They also changed to a new color. This year’s paint is Roswell Green Metallic. “Cactus Jane, we named her,” Rosenberg said. “I love cactuses, so it is perfect.”
Stingray gave the keys to Rosenberg on March 26 at an event at the dealership. The event thanked Kyle Robinson, Florida Strawberry Festival President, and the City Commissioners, including Mike Sparkman, who was the driving force that got the raffle going at the Florida Strawberry Festival. Awards were also given to individuals and groups who went above and beyond to make the raffle a success. On November 1, Joel Rogers took over ownership of Stingray Chevrolet from the retiring Steve Hurley. Hurley thanked Rogers and his wife, Sunshine, for making the raffle happen this year.
“Stingray Chevrolet has built more than a customer base,” Rogers said. “It has built a reputation as a community partner. The Corvette raffle is one of the clearest expressions of that. It brings people together, creates excitement around an iconic vehicle, and—most importantly—directly supports causes that matter locally. From a business standpoint, you don’t walk into a legacy like that and replace it—you strengthen it. The raffle already has credibility, history, and emotional connection in the community. My role is to protect that and elevate it. But beyond strategy, this is personal. A dealership should stand for more than transactions. It should have a visible, tangible impact on the people it serves. The raffle does exactly that—it turns passion for a car like the Corvette into real support for organizations doing meaningful work. So for me, continuing the tradition wasn’t about maintaining the status quo—it was about doubling down on something that already represents the best of what Stingray Chevrolet can be. I feel great about it—and more importantly, proud of what it represents. The giveaway wasn’t just about awarding a Corvette; it was about bringing the community together around something positive. Seeing the level of engagement, the excitement from participants, and the impact it had on the cause we supported—that’s what makes it meaningful….Overall, I’d call it a success—not just because it was well executed, but because it strengthened relationships, supported the community, and reinforced what Stingray Chevrolet stands for.
Since its inception, the New Corvette Giveaway has generated $3.8 million for Plant City’s Unity in the Community, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The $335,000 raised this year will be allocated to local, on-the-ground charities to accomplish good works such as providing needy kids with school backpacks full of supplies and feeding the homeless. The Lions Club, Tampa Bay Vets, The Rotary, Elks, Kiwanis, United Food Bank, Pregnancy Care Center, Plant City YMCA, and Winn-Dixie were among the entities that provided volunteers and support to make the raffle a success. In addition to its staff who volunteered, Stingray Chevrolet also contributed the marketing dollars to promote the raffle.
“This means a whole lot,” Sharon Moody, Unity in the Community Treasurer, said. “We help so many different non-profit organizations in this city—35 to 40—this year. It is much needed in this community to help the children and the adults. Whatever we need to do, the funds from this Corvette Raffle are a tremendous help.”
