The Foundation has 9 items up for bid on Ebay. Five pieces have been there for 10 days, and the last day is starting. There have been no bids. These are five incredible pieces of art. Two are ORIGINAL pieces done with a layman's caring and passionate hand, who wanted to give something back to help the cause, because life was not fair to Hellé Nice. Three additional pieces are limited edition prints, made from an original piece illustrating a moment in time, captured, from a race on the beach at La Baule. It is by an artist who found inspiration in the grace and style of the Bugatti, as well as the grace and style of it's owner. All these pieces are fine examples of the emotion that Hellé Nice still creates in those who come to know her. She's been gone now 26 years, forgotten for over 60, yet she continues to be the subject of artwork! What an enduring personality, and the very reason I founded the Hellé Nice Foundation.
As I sit here tonight, I am distracted and I am concerned. A good portion of the cost of the grave marker rests in getting good prices for these donated pieces. The work order for the marker has been signed off on, the ceremony date is set, the VIPs are being gathered to come to speak in her honor. I am doing all I can. I have to let Hellé's spirit do the rest. She has guided this process from the beginning, since I read Miranda Seymour's book, "The Bugatti Queen", and possibly coerced Miranda was when she was asked to write the book. Hellé was that kind of woman when alive, and she worked very hard at creating Hellé Nice out of Helene Mariette Delangle. I know she is working just as hard from the other side to push this project forward.
I share this with you tonight because I have to. I take every opportunity to spread the word about this foundation as I can. This is what I have been called to do, to identify the resting place of a champion, a dedicated racer, a woman who blazed trails during her time. She will be happy with this - but it's not over when the marker is in place.
After the echoes of song have left the walls of the cemetery, the last flowers have been piled high, the last celebrant has closed the gate, and the last Bugatti has left the grounds, the real work begins. Because I have made a pledge and given my word, Hellé and I will continue to honor those women pioneers of motorsports, the famous and the forgotten,who paved the way for the young girls and women out on the tracks throughout the world today. I will bring them the history of their fore bearers, and I will support them in their efforts to "excel and accelerate", to go beyond their wildest dreams and without limitations!
I challenge you all to join me in this endeavor, to become donors and supporters of the Hellé Nice Foundation. It will be a ride you will not forget!
I have to retire for the evening, and I have to trust that at just about this time tomorrow night there will be winning bids beyond my wildest dreams for those items on eBay, to propel the Foundation on to the next milestone. I will post tomorrow night with the results.
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