LAS VEGAS CAR DEALERSHIP NEWS

Toyota and VH1 Save The Music have partnered up to support music education with a new interactive festival activation that will be onsite at Life Is Beautiful, Sept. 25-27 in downtown Las Vegas.

To showcase how music positively impacts lives, Toyota is building a glowing, life-size Whispering Willow tree on the festival grounds at Life Is Beautiful. The tree is customized to follow the theme of Toyota’s on-site space, which has a psychedelic, fun feel. Visitors will be asked to write what music means to them on a leaf, hang the leaf on the tree, take a photo and post to social media with the hashtag #ToyotaGiving. For each social media post, Toyota will donate $1 to VH1 Save The Music.

As the weekend progresses, the tree will grow full with leaves and come to life, showing how important music is to our lives. By the end of the five festival run, Toyota will make a donation to VH1 Save The Music for the organization to restore or implement a musical instrument program for an entire school.

Park Place Infiniti sponsors Adoption Exchange event

Park Place Infiniti will again be the official “Park Place” sponsor of The Adoption Exchange’s upcoming Monopoly Tournament fundraiser from 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 10 at Palace Station, 2411 W. Sahara Ave.

The Adoption Exchange, a nonprofit group, serves as the connection between children who wait in foster care and families who adopt. The Monopoly event will help the charity find safe, loving families for the 1,100 Nevada children in foster homes waiting to be adopted.

“As a native of Las Vegas, I feel an obligation to help the children in our community succeed, starting with the most basic necessity — a loving family,” Park Place Infiniti General Manager Joe Tortomasi said. “Park Place Infiniti has a long history of supporting children’s charities and we’re proud to continue supporting The Adoption Exchange and the good work they do.”

Park Place Infiniti’s previous contributions helped 77 children waiting in foster homes to unite with adoptive families.

The Adoption Exchange’s Monopoly event, honoring Dr. Tony and Renee Marlon of the Tony and Renee Marlon Charitable Foundation, will include a silent auction, cocktail reception, dinner and a one-hour Monopoly tournament with prizes for first, second and third place. Dave Courvoisier of KLAS-TV will emcee the fundraising event. For ticket information, call 702-436-6335, or visit www.adoptex.org/monopoly.

Car club’s charity event set for Oct. 17 at Los Prados

The Los Prados Dust Devils’ Car Club’s sixth annual Charity Cruisin’ Block Party will be held Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Los Prados Country Club, 5150 Los Prados Circle. Registration to participate in the show costs $25.

There will be prizes, raffles, music and food for sale. The event benefits local charities.

Visit lospradosdustdevils.com for more information and registration form.

Findlay Automotive Group’s Dennis Rand retires

Dennis Rand, a 47-year member of Findlay Automotive Group, retired from the car business Sept. 1 surrounded by many friends during a going-away party at Findlay Cadillac.

However, don’t expect the 67-year-old warranty manager for Findlay Cadillac to slow down much after becoming one of the automotive giant’s longest-term employees.

“I’m headed for our 7-year-old grandson’s Little League game tonight,” said Rand, who started working for Findlay Automotive before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1969.

After serving in the Vietnam War, Rand returned to Las Vegas and Findlay.

“I worked as an accountant in the business office at Findlay Oldsmobile on Boulder Highway,” Rand said, adding that the dealership was run by Findlay Automotive Group founder Pete Findlay. “That was when everything was calculated by hand.”

From there, Rand was a dispatcher for about four years at Findlay Oldsmobile. Over the years, he worked as a claims manager until retiring from Findlay Cadillac.

“(Findlay Automotive Group CEO) Cliff Findlay has always had a vision,” said Rand. “He also has very good people around him. It’s been a good ride, and I could never imagine working anywhere else.”