Simi Valley, CA – A recent Jeep-enthusiast swap meet helped raise money for the California Off-Road Vehicle Association (CORVA), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the positive aspects of vehicular recreation on public lands. The event was hosted by hard-core Jeep products manufacturer Gen-Right Off Road at its facility in Simi Valley, California.

"The idea came up during one of our customer runs," said Gen-Right president Tony Pellegrino. "Most guys have a ton of parts in the garage or on the side yard. I wanted to give them the ability to unload a few things and put a little money in their pocket."

Gen-Right supplied a DJ booth along with food and drinks, collecting donations on behalf of CORVA. The event attracted Jeep enthusiasts from all over California as well as from Arizona. Early rainstorms didn't discourage buyers or sellers. In fact, Don McMillan of Daystar Products made the six-hour drive from Phoenix through heavy rains. By 8:00 Saturday morning, most of his trailer load of overstock lights and discontinued bumpers was sold.

Larry Long persevered through a breakdown on the highway. An Auto Club wrecker delivered Long's trailer of prized CJ parts to Gen-Right's parking lot. Long donated 10 percent of his sales to CORVA to help keep Johnson Valley's Hammer trails from being annexed by the Twentynine Palms Marine Base. Pete Trasborg from Jp magazine cleared Jeep parts out of his spare bedroom and even had his pet rock collection for sale. This was the first of what Gen-Right hopes will be at least a bi-annual happening.

"The weather might've kept some people away, but almost everyone here said they'd be back if we did it again," Tony Pellegrino says.

Plans are underway for another Gen-Right Consumer Swap Meet on May 9, 2009. For more information, contact Gen-Right Off Road, 805-584-8635, www.genright.com, and CORVA, www.corva.org.