The charity event was held at the Rougemont (Thistle) Hotel, Exeter in memory of the company’s founder and chairman Stuart Goodridge, who sadly passed away in January last year.
The evening was attended by employees, suppliers, distributors and friends of Goodridge, who came together to honour Stuart and raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).
A charity auction was compered by MNDA patron Richard Noble OBE of the Bloodhound project, which aims to smash the 1,000 mph land speed barrier with a rocket-powered car, for which Goodridge is supplying all the fluid transfer systems.
Along with a raffle held on the night and donations through ticket sales, the auction raised a fantastic £12,348.50.
Stuart’s wife Trudi said: “Stuart was an extremely brave and popular man. He greatly appreciated the help that is given by the MNDA. The advice and support we received as a family was invaluable and I really don't know where we would have been without them. He would have been extremely touched by the generosity of those who attended the ball."
The event was inspired and organised by Claire Conibear and Gill Spry of Goodridge.
Claire said: “Stuart was so fondly regarded and we thought it would be nice to do something in his memory, but I never dreamt that we would raise so much.
“I would like to thank all the companies who donated prizes for the auction, Richard Noble for agreeing to act as auctioneer for the evening, and everyone who came, bought tickets, and bid in the auction. We are delighted to have raised so much money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association in Devon and we know that Stuart would have been very proud.”
Cynthia Hopkins, Association visitor and Secretary of the Exeter and East Devon branch of the MNDA and Trustee of the National Association said: “We are extremely grateful to Goodridge for their amazing support - never before have we had one single event that has raised so much money.
“The donation will most certainly make a huge difference to the people we support, as specialised equipment for people living with Motor Neurone Disease is always expensive. Primarily it will go towards providing this equipment to the 16 families that we are currently helping across Exeter and East Devon, and any other families who come to us for support throughout the year.”
Prizes for the auction were donated by friends and associates of Goodridge, and included a VIP hot air balloon trip for two, a private return flight to Jersey for four people including lunch, a Lamborghini driving experience, VIP British Superbike tickets, rounds of golf for four people and go-karting for four people.
Goodridge, which is the world’s leading manufacturer of performance fluid transfer systems, is based at the Exeter Airport Business Park and employs around 130 staff in Exeter and more than 300 worldwide.
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