Lake Forest, CA – Infinite Hero Foundation (IHF) is pleased to announce the addition of Don Schumacher to its Board of Directors.
Mr. Schumacher is the Chairman and CEO of Schumacher Electric and the owner of Don Schumacher Racing. As a driver/crew chief/owner, Don won five NHRA national event titles, including the 1970 U.S. Nationals, through 1974. Since his return as an owner in 1997, Don has extended his resume to include 16 NHRA world championships.
DSR closed out 2016 with two world championships, and increased its total of NHRA event titles to 293 after winning 26 times and setting 27 of a possible 42 NHRA track records in nitro categories. DSR has started 2017 by winning each of four possible nitro titles to raise its total to an unprecedented 297 and holds all four NHRA world records.
Through the generous sponsorship of donor Terry Chandler, Infinite Hero Foundation vastly expanded its relationship with DSR in 2014. The Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car hit the track at the sixth event of 2014 in April near Houston with driver “Fast Jack” Beckman, and the former U.S. Air Force sergeant has been the pitchman for educating the NHRA community on the foundation and cultivating funds via the sale of Infinite Hero challenge coins.
“Terry Chandler’s involvement with Infinite Hero has allowed the foundation to grow in exponential ways. Her sponsorship of the Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car has allowed Infinite Hero to not only raise nearly $500,000 in critical funding for an annual grant cycle, but has also kept the critical issues facing our military heroes and families in the spotlight,” said Infinite Hero Executive Director Laurie Baker. “The response from the generous NHRA community has been outstanding and continues to expand. Don will bring his vast knowledge of cultivating corporate sponsorships and collaborative partnerships to the board to complement the unprecedented support Ms. Chandler has given both Infinite Hero and her Make-a-Wish teams.”
The announcement of Mr. Schumacher’s board appointment came during IHF’s, Veterans Innovation Society for Investing & Technology dinner held at Oakley Headquarters at Foothill Ranch on Feb. 9, 2017 (https://vimeo.com/207482026). The event celebrated the historic impact that IHF had on veterans programming as well as initiated a dialogue between veteran leaders, donors and those operating in the innovation landscape. The dinner was in itself innovative; it was engineered by Master Chef Joachim Splichal and meant to inspire an outside of the box approach to viewing wounded veteran rehabilitation initiatives. In the following days, Don invited veteran benefactors of IHF programs to the NHRA Auto Club & Raceway, Pomona, CA for a weekend of drag racing and comradery. He also made a personal pledge of $50,000 to the foundation and was matched by Board President, Colin Baden and his wife Laura.
“Being asked to join the Infinite Hero Foundations’ Board of Directors is one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Don, who has been inducted into nearly every major motorsports hall of fame.
“This would not have been possible without Terry’s generosity and commitment to helping our very special veterans. We want to leave every NHRA race with two trophies as winners, but we already win when her Infinite Hero Funny Car goes down the track and we’re joined by some our country’s greatest heroes.”
About Infinite Hero Foundation
A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Infinite Hero Foundation combats the most difficult front line issues – mental and physical – facing returning military heroes and their families. The Foundation funds programs that drive innovation and the accessibility of effective treatments for military heroes and their families dealing with service-related mental and physical injuries. For more information, visit: www.infinitehero.org.