For the 16th year, Hall Buick GMC donated a brand new truck as a charitable raffle for the Tyler Cattle Barons’ Gala benefiting the American Cancer Society.

For the 16th year, Hall Buick GMC donated a brand new truck as a charitable raffle for the Tyler Cattle Barons’ Gala benefiting the American Cancer Society.

This year’s truck was a 2023 GMC Sierra Elevation Edition Crew Cab, and it garnered a total of $50,000 worth of donations with 500 tickets sold.

Tiara Spilman, of Bullard, was named the lucky winner.

“I was in disbelief,” she said.

Spilman was at the gala Saturday night and bought four raffle tickets just 30 minutes before the drawing.

“I had never bought tickets before… as this was my first time at Cattle Barons’,” she said. “And I don’t know, something just sprung up on me to go buy a couple of tickets.”

Spilman was outside the venue during the live announcement when Monte Hall and Pam and Gerry Hall drew her winning ticket.

“My phone started going off and I was getting about four or five messages, so I ran inside and there was this truck right here,” she said.

Very much a “truck person,” Spilman is looking forward to driving it.

“I love everything about it,” she said. “The screen, the back dash on it, the comfort… it’s perfect.”

The Tyler Cattle Barons’ Gala is the primary fundraiser for the American Cancer Society of Tyler.

“This has been a passion of mine for a long time,” said Pam Hall, owner of Hall Buick GMC. “My mother died quite young of cancer and there had been a lot of cancer in her family — brothers, sisters, some of my cousins with young children.”

Hall had been donating about $5,000 a year to the gala but made a decision to step it up and donate a truck.

“We have been giving a truck every year… and this is our 16th truck,” Hall said. “I’ve worked closely with the American Cancer Society to do that and to sell tickets. It’s a big project.”

The donated trucks over the years average between $50,000 to $60,000 apiece. The MSRP of this year’s truck was $59,410.

“I hope it continues,” Hall said. “I think it has made a difference in the attendance and businesses contributing, and we need to get the community back to helping in the efforts to fight cancer.”