Car dealership to pitch in for cancer benefit

For the first time, a Columbia car dealership will participate in the national Drive for the Cure, which benefits breast cancer research, treatment, education and screening.

On Thursday, Joe Machens BMW will be one of about 240 dealerships across the country to participate in the BMW Ultimate Drive for the Cure, a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Machens will donate $1 for every mile that participants drive. Elizabeth Mendenhall, di-

rector of the mid-Missouri affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, said organizers expect 300 people to drive a prescribed seven- to 10-mile route. Participants can drive the route as many times as they want, but they have to register for times at the top of the hour. Walk-ins are welcome for the end of the hour.

The kickoff will include a “celebrity drive” with people such as cancer survivor Axie Hindman, whose husband, Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman, recently underwent treatment for prostate cancer. A survivors ceremony will recognize Diana Ash, of Columbia, who was nominated as a local hero by the mid-Missouri board of the Komen foundation.

All participants in the drive can sign a “Signature Car,” one of two being driven across the country collecting names.

“We are so excited for this really cool event,” Mendenhall said, “and this benefits the local and the national organization.”