(AUBURN) - A Wisconsin couple made a special trip to Auburn this week to pick up a big prize -- a $150,000 check from the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.
Steve and Jennifer Holmes of McFarland, Wisconsin, were the winners of the museum's 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Sweepstakes. The couple traveled to Auburn for the official check presentation, which was made by museum CEO and Executive Director Brandon Anderson.
Now retired, the Holmeses are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year and plan to use part of the winnings for a heritage trip to Scandinavia later this summer.
The annual sweepstakes is one of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum's largest fundraising efforts, supporting educational programs, new exhibits, preservation of its roughly 140-vehicle collection, and ongoing care of the historic Auburn Automobile Company administration building, a National Historic Landmark.
Anderson said the sweepstakes helps extend the museum's reach far beyond northeast Indiana while generating critical support for its mission.
"This allows us to share the story of Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg automobiles with people around the world," Anderson said.
The most recent sweepstakes raised a gross total of $836,750 in partnership with The Lost Corvettes and TRI Industries, with proceeds split among participating nonprofit organizations.
Now in its 52nd year, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum is one of the oldest automobile museums in the United States. The museum is currently preparing a new exhibit highlighting the workers who helped make Auburn automobiles possible, along with continued restoration work on the historic building.