The Pulliams: Pendants & Hearts of Gold (and Silver)
(This recurring column offers a look into the SCCA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Sports Car Club of America®. The column’s author, Jim Weidenbaum, is a member of the SCCA Foundation Board of Directors. This article first appeared on www.scca.com)
Larry and Tere Pulliam of SCCA’s Atlanta Region have been together for over 40 years. Quoting Tere, “SCCA is our life” as it’s played a foundational role in her and Larry’s lives. Back in the 1970s, the Pulliam’s autocrossed a Lotus Europa, before Larry moved to road racing an F Production Triumph Spitfire, becoming a pace car driver, and holding multiple official licenses. Over the years, Tere worked in a variety of roles for Atlanta Region, including as Assistant RE and Race Chair before being elected to the National SCCA Board of Directors.
As we’ve seen with other SCCA “super couples,” the Pulliam’s, while generously donating their time, still wanted to do more. From her time on the SCCA Board of Directors, Tere understood the significant work of the SCCA Foundation, and together with Larry, they began brainstorming how best to help support the SCCA Foundation.
Before continuing this story, it’s important to know that Larry is a custom jeweler by trade – as such, you may be able to see where this is going.
A few years ago, Tere noticed it was hard to find truly nice SCCA jewelry – yes, crossed flags and such were available, but nothing that was reflective of the quality, craftsmanship, and attention to detail that so many SCCA members put into their cars and/or race duties. Larry got to work with a CAD-CAM specialist and designed a pendant based on SCCA’s iconic wire wheel. Working with SCCA’s Manager of Multi-Channel Marketing Andie Albin, the pendant design was approved by the Club. Slightly smaller than the size of a quarter, early pendant sales went to SCCA notables Raleigh Boreen, Howard Duncan, and Marcus Merideth. While pendants were initially gold, pendants were also produced in sterling silver.
Returning to the Pulliam’s quest about how they could help support SCCA Foundation, Tere – now on the SCCA Foundation Board of Directors – appreciated firsthand the total dependence on donations needed to fund SCCA Foundation’s programs. With the retirement of Carla Russo as the Foundation’s liaison to SCCA Women on Track, Tere slotted into that role. Following that move, she and Larry soon offered the Foundation a gold SCCA pendant as a sweepstakes prize to raise awareness and funds for SCCA Women on Track. That sweepstakes was so successful it was immediately followed with a second sweepstakes for a sterling silver SCCA wire wheel pendant.
The Silver Pendant Sweepstakes runs through May 27, 2024, with the winner to be drawn on June 4. In honor of the Pulliam’s generous donation, the SCCA Foundation is offering a 50% bonus in the number of entries you get when you use promo code “Pulliam” when you click the link below.
The Pulliam’s have long demonstrated to have hearts of gold and, through their generosity, it’s unquestionable they also have ones of silver, too.
If you would like to support the SCCA Foundation or one of its programs, please contact us at info@sccafoundation.org.