For Neil Boardman the night of September 1, 2012 turned out to be an evening of great surprise for him and his entire family! One that Neil nor his wife, Sue will ever forget! During my recent interview with Neil he expressed that he and his wife bought 2 tickets in each of their names on the same day of the drawing to help benefit the local hospital. The 2013 Ford Mustang was generously donated by Shults Auto Group.
Video of when Pam Tillis drew the winning ticket
Neil Boardman was not in the audience when his ticket was drawn among thousands in the barrel though he was in Bemus Point at the time with family and eventually made his way to the stage and had his picture taken with Pam. When his grandkids told their "Boppy" he had won Neil replied .. "Ok, kids, that's real funny".
The word Neil shared with me that best described what transpired on that September evening in Bemus Point was .. exciting. He had never won anything before so I think, for him, winning a car was surreal as it would be for most of us! When Neil and Sue took delivery of the car they drove it to a friend's home though later in the day most of their neighbors weren't around to see what he had won!
A few years after winning the car Neil learned that Pam Tillis would be performing at the Warren County Fair in nearby Warren PA. Neil and Sue drove to the fair and were able to meet Pam after her performance. She remembered drawing the winning ticket in Bemus Point and was happy to see Neil Boardman, again. She told Neil that she enjoyed performing at the Bemus Bay Pops and hoped to return. Pam gave him an autographed photo and a photo was taken of Neil, Sue and Pam to remember another exciting moment for the Boardmans. Prior to Neil crossing paths with Pam at the fair after winning the car he and Sue met her at the Chautauqua Institution when they saw Mel Tillis give a concert performance. Pam was with her father that evening so while backstage they purchased a CD and had Mel autograph it. Neither Neil nor Pam could have known that evening at CI they would meet, again. Their paths would, indeed, cross two more times .. on a stage that floats and at a nearby county fair!
My first question to Neil was .. do you still have the car? The answer was no though Neil and Sue enjoyed the Mustang on nice weekends in the summer months for approximately 3 years eventually trading the car in at Shults Auto Group with less than 5,000 miles, for a new pickup truck. The new pickup was red so I think it's safe to say .. Neil liked the color, red!
Thank you, Neil for sharing your fun story of winning the Car on the Barge at the Bemus Bay Pops and sharing this photo that officially reads And The Winner is ... Neil Boardman!
