LISLE, Ill., Nov. 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With the help of “The King” Richard Petty, Smithfield Foods and Cheney Brothers partnered to donate $25,000 to a local charity Friday afternoon at the Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/555c6b1c-dbed-410b-8fb1-1bb37e6c3af9
The donation comes as a result of a month long Smithfield Foods promotion. For every case of participating Smithfield Foods products that Cheney Brothers sold through October, Smithfield donated $1.00 to Big Dog Ranch Rescue, a charity that is very close to the Cheney Brothers family.
The donation was made during a press conference at the Homestead-Miami Speedway where Richard Petty Motorsports and Cheney Brothers, a leading food distributor in the Southeast, are partnering to serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford and driver Sam Hornish, Jr. during NASCAR's final race of the 2015 season.
The donation was made by Petty on behalf of Smithfield Foods and Byron Russell, the Chief Executive Officer of Cheney Brothers to Lauree Simmons.
"This is a very generous gift from Smithfield Foods and Cheney Brothers," said Simmons, Founder, Big Dog Rescue Ranch. "We can't thank them enough and are honored to have Richard Petty present this check to us."
Big Dog Ranch Rescue started over 10 years ago as the Florida Weimaraner Rescue and in 2008 was expanded to rescue all dogs. Since then, they have saved the lives of over 10,000 innocent dogs and puppies. They are committed to rescuing, nurturing and adopting dogs into loving happy homes. Their goal is to give the gift of a happy life back to as many dogs as possible, to enrich the lives of those who adopt them, and thereby help create a better world.
“Smithfield Foods, like Richard Petty Motorsports, is always looking for ways we can give back to the community,” said Petty, Co-Owner, Richard Petty Motorsports. “Cheney Brothers is a big supporter of the Big Dog Ranch Rescue and we’re glad that we can help Smithfield with this donation today.”
"The Big Dog Ranch Rescue is doing important work," said Charles Gitkin, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Smithfield Foods. “It’s our honor to make this donation to them on behalf of Cheney Brothers. We hope this donation will help them continue their excellent work for years to come.”
“We have been supporters of the Big Dog Ranch Rescue over the past several years,” said Russell, Cheney Brothers. “This is a charity that is close to our heart that is doing tremendous things for rescue dogs and the people who adapt them. We want to thank Smithfield Foods and Richard Petty Motorsports for this gift on our behalf.”
For more information about Smithfield Foods, please visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.
The photo is also available via AP PhotoExpress.
About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield®, Eckrich®, Farmland®, Armour®, Cook's®, John Morrell®, Gwaltney®, Nathan's Famous®, Kretschmar®, Margherita®, Curly's®, Carando® and Healthy Ones®. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.
About Cheney Brothers
There's a reason Cheney Brothers has been around for more than 90 years. From their humble beginnings in West Palm Beach with one truck delivering eggs, milk and butter, the family owned and operated distributor understands that success depends on unmatched customer service. CBI has grown into one of the largest, most innovative food distributors in the Southeast by treating customers like family. As the fourth generation continues the family tradition, Cheney Brothers believes their service is second to none, because their customers have always come first. The CBI family and staff continues to work harder and smarter every day to ensure their customer's success by delivering service, ideas and the highest quality products available, with a personal touch.
About Big Dog Ranch Rescue
Big Dog Ranch Rescue is a leader in the national animal welfare movement, through compassionate, innovative rescue practices and transformative educational programs. Our goal is to give the gift of life to as many dogs as humanly possible, enrich the lives of those who adopt them, and in doing so, help create a better world. For more information: www.BDRR.org.
About Richard Petty Motorsports
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneur Andrew Murstein, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force, STP and Fresh From Florida, and Sam Hornish, Jr. drives the No. 9 machine with primary partner Twisted Tea. In addition, Dakoda Armstrong wheels the No. 43 WinField Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.