Winner Announced of ‘One-Of-A-Kind’ Vintage Truck Raffled to Fund Medical Research

An incredible $483,000 has been raised for Motor Neurone Disease research thanks to the restoration and raffle of a 1946 Ford Jailbar truck, named Bonnie.

Hundreds crowded around the NTI Supercars in Townsville as the winner’s name was announced – Beverly Smith. 

The Redland local was in complete shock when she received the winning call, after buying a single ticket in the raffle along with some friends at the Cooly Rocks On Festival. 

“I lost my Mum to MND nearly 20 years ago, so it’s a cause that’s very close to my heart. I always try to support the foundation in any way that I can, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect to actually win the truck.” 

Bonnie was the seventh truck to be restored and raffled by Australia’s largest transport and logistics insurance specialists, bringing the total raised for MND research by NTI to over $2.5M.

It took 2,500 hours to restore the black Dual cab 4x4, worth more than $200,000. 

“Once again, we saw outstanding support from the community, with tickets sold online and at a range of industry events.” said NTI’s Chief Customer Officer, Janelle Greene.

“The money raised is used to fund medical research via NTI’s official research grant, administered through the MND and Me Foundation. 

“Some of the investigations the grant has funded over the years include looking into how repairing damaged proteins can slow the disease, the impact of the immune system on damaged cells, and the development of a testing platform for new drugs and treatments.

“Just like Beverly, this is a cause very important to us as our former CEO, Wayne Patterson, lost his battle with MND in 2018.”

MND and Me Foundation CEO, Jane Milne, said there are around 2,500 Australians living with Motor Neurone Disease. 

“MND can affect adults of any age and there’s still no known reason why about 90 per cent of people diagnosed suddenly develop the disease,” Ms Milne said.

“Two Australians are diagnosed every day and sadly, two people pass away from the disease every day.

“The funds raised go directly to MND researchers and NTI’s commitment year after year means those researchers can focus on finding treatment methods and a cure, rather than spending valuable time seeking alternate funding.”