Postscript to Possible Dreams: Added Prize Raises Final Total

By ALEXIS TONTI

In an unexpected turn following the annual Possible Dreams Auction, one donor decided to offer two Vineyard residents the chance to buy the dream that just last Monday slipped through their fingers.

The dream was a luxury trip to the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. It included airfare and accommodations, along with the chance to attend the qualifying races, tour the pits and meet the drivers. Islanders Steve Schwab and John Early had hoped to make it theirs. They pooled their resources to come up with $27,500 - but the gavel didn't come down until the bidding reached $35,000.

Later that week, however, through an article in the Martha's Vineyard Times and word of mouth, the story of the pair's interest reached Katama resident Marty Homlish. Mr. Homlish sits on the board of directors for SAP, the business-to-business software company responsible for the racing dream.

"I was talking to [assistant auctioneer] Rick Lee, and Rick told me that Steve Schwab was one of the people who showed up at the auction, ready to mortgage his house and his kids' tuition to bid on the Grand Prix," said Mr. Homlish, who also serves as SAP chief marketing officer.

"Rick said Steve was a Formula One fan from long ago. When I heard about that, I decided to see if we could come up with another dream."

The result was a similar package - a week-long trip to Spain to see the Barcelona Grand Prix in May, with the same VIP access to the event.

Mr. Homlish spoke with Mr. Schwab over the weekend to make the offer.

"He was thrilled, he was like a kid," said Mr. Homlish. "He said, ‘This was like the dream of my life.' "

Mr. Schwab works for Martha's Vineyard Insurance and Mr. Early is a West Tisbury selectman. Both were off-Island yesterday and unavailable for comment.

"For 20 years we watched the auction from our lawn chairs," said Mr. Homlish, who has been spending summers on the Vineyard since the mid-1970s.

"And I always said to my wife that one day I wanted to be able to contribute something. This is such a special place, and [Community Services] does such a wonderful thing for the community, that it is nice to be able to give something back."

For the 2003 auction, SAP put together a trip to the Presidents Club golf tournament in South Africa. This year it was the two Grand Prix packages. And Mr. Homlish said it won't be long before they look ahead to 2005.

"It was extraordinarily generous," said auction chairman Kerry Scott, who added that the dream pushed the total raised from last Monday's auction to $543,300 - a new record. With the additional money from food and ticket sales, and with some donations still coming in, Ms. Scott predicted that the total will be around $585,000.

All of the proceeds benefit Martha's Vineyard Community Services.

"Marty has been a great friend to Possible Dreams," said Ms. Scott. "And the word to Steve and John and the people who bought the Monte Carlo dreams is to rest up - the trips are nonstop."