Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America, to Host Teen Driving School to Kick Off the 2010 BMW Championship in Chicago

- Group 1 Automotive partners with BMW sponsoring fundraiser for the Evans Scholars Foundation
- Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana BMW Centers to contribute $3 for every mile driven by participating teens
- BMW to launch its “DRIVE IT HOME – DON’T TXT & DRIVE” campaign

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - BMW announced Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LLC, will host a special Teen Driving School on September 7, 2010 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois to kick off the 2010 BMW Championship. The tournament features 70 of the world’s top professional golfers competing in the third leg of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Group 1 Automotive, owner of 15 BMW and MINI dealerships nationwide, is partnering with BMW to sponsor the fundraiser for the Evans Scholars Foundation, which provides full university tuition and housing grants to deserving young caddies.

Like the BMW Championship, all proceeds from the Teen Driving School will be donated to the Evans Scholars Foundation. The Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana BMW Centers will contribute $3 for every mile driven by participating teens during the event.

Evans Scholars and Chicago area teens will participate in Teen Driving School – BMW’s road safety program designed to help young people learn how to be safer, more informed drivers. A PGA TOUR player will also attend the driving event, during which BMW will launch its “DRIVE IT HOME – DON’T TXT & DRIVE” campaign to build awareness that texting while driving is one of the most dangerous actions a person can do behind the wheel.

The BMW Teen Driving School is a grassroots initiative under the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility program combining teens, road safety and local community outreach. It is a recent extension of the teen curriculum offered at the BMW Performance Center located in Spartanburg, SC. Students improve their driving skills and increase their road knowledge through classroom instruction, driver awareness demonstrations and hands-on driving exercises.

Since BMW became a presenting sponsor of the BMW Championship in 2007, the BMW Championship has raised a total of $7.3 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation. BMW also offers a summer internship program that invites the scholars to work for BMW, offering them invaluable insight into their future careers after graduation. At the 2010 BMW Championship, BMW will also continue its tradition of pledging a four-year Evans Scholarship in honor of the first player who scores a hole-in-one during the tournament.

For more information, see the following:
BMW Teen Driving School, visit bmwteendrivingschoolusanews.com.
BMW Championship, visit bmwchampionshipusa.com.
Group 1 Automotive, visit group1auto.com.
Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana BMW Centers, visit chicagolandbmw.com.