by Keith Cornett as republished from Corvette Blogger
Don Messner wanted to plant a seed, his widow says

Dateline November 2015: Like so many Corvette enthusiasts, Don was committed to America’s Sports Car – and the National Corvette Museum. That’s why he decided to leave his collection of 10 Corvettes, many collector and special editions, low mileage examples, to the Museum when he passed away in 2013.

“He wanted others in similar situations with rare Corvettes to see the Museum as a place for them,” his wife Marlene said. “Most of all, he wanted to inspire future generations to work hard to buy their own Corvettes someday so that they, too, could enjoy the lifestyle that goes with owning them.”

Now Don’s collection, the largest donation to the Museum, is being spotlighted in a special Heritage Series put together by the NCM.

According to the Museum: The carefully assembled collection were Don’s pride and joy, and were left to the Museum upon his passing with the hope that they would inspire others to do the same.

Five of the cars are on display at the NCM, including:

1965 Custom Built Race Corvette with a complete wide body kit, roll cage, period correct exhaust, custom built big block by Lingenfelter, custom chassis, custom sheet metal intake, Recaro race seats with harnesses, aluminum radiator and 5-speed transmission.

1967 427 Convertible in Marine Blue with a stinger hood and a 390hp engine and many other options, including positraction rear axle, whitewall tires, side dual exhaust, AM/FM radio, softray tinted glass, white convertible top, 4-speed close ratio manual transmission and white and bright blue vinyl interior.

1996 Grand Sport rated as one of the “10 most valuable Corvettes” by CNN Money.

1996 Collectors Edition.

2013 60th Anniversary 427 Convertible.

Thanks to Don’s “planting” two years ago, who knows what future “crops” of Corvette donations may be harvested by the Museum in the coming years?