January 2017

COMMUNITY
Traveled
The Boca Raton
Concours d’Elegance Event
by Jayne Bonilla
The fact that the 11th Annual Boca
Raton Concours d’Elegance is
the fastest growing Concours in
the nation. and the world’s largest for
charity, is no surprise. Because if you
know founders Rita and Rick Case, of
Rick Case Automotive Group, then you
understand this extraordinary couple
prefers to take the road less traveled,
and forge their own path. Always driven
by hard work, dedication, and passion,
Rita and Rick Case are compelled
to improve the lives of others. As an
automobile aficionado and car collector,
the merging of Rick Case’s passion
for charity and his love of cars was an
organic concept.
“I wanted to bring a Concours d’
Elegance close to home,
since none had yet existed
in South Florida,” Rick said.
“Ours is the only Concours
that takes place during the
winter, when our population
doubles.” Rick Case is
empowered to create
enormous exposure for his
charity by bringing as many
58
people as he can together over the span
of a weekend. The Boys & Girls Clubs
of Broward County, and the more than
12,500 at-risk youth it serves, has been
what the Case family poured their hearts
into for more than 30 years. To date,
the Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance,
which began in 2007, has raised more
than $9.2 million for The Boys & Girls
Clubs of Broward County.
As the 11th Annual Boca Raton
Contours d’Elegance shifts into gear,
readying itself for three days on February
10, 11, and 12, Henry Estrada peers
into the review mirror, looking back to
1992 when he was just 16-years-old.
Henry and his friends eagerly awaited
the completion of a large building across
the street from where they played
basketball after school. “I’ll never forget
JANUARY 2017
when the sign went up,” he said. “It read
“Coming Soon: The Boys & Girls Club of
Hollywood.” For Henry and his friends,
it couldn’t have come at a better time.
“The day it opened I went in for a tour,
ran home and asked my parents for their
permission to join and for the annual fee
of $4.” Henry said. “They gave me both.”
Henry admits he loved the sports
programs, his initial draw to the club,
but looking back he is most grateful for
the nurturing environment, the friends
he made, and the guidance of those
coaches and mentors that always lent
him an ear when he needed one, namely
Matt Organ, who opened the club in
Henry’s neighborhood. When asked
how long he was a club member, Henry
said “I never left!” Today, Henry Estrada
serves as the director of the same club,
The Marti Huizenga Boys
& Girls Club/Hollywood
Unit, where he began his
membership in 1992. He
serves to support The Boca
Raton Concours since its
inception, with as much
fervor as he manages his
Boca Raton Concours d
Elegance Hangar party.