THUNDER BAY – The holidays just got a little more festive for Manitouwadge, Ont.’s Wayne Barsalou.
On Friday his name was pulled from a rotating, gold-coloured drum at the Gateway Casino Thunder Bay, making him the $50,000 grand-prize winner in the Show Me the Money Draw in support of Our Kids Count and the Kiwanis Club of Thunder Bay.
Our Kids Counts’ Gladys Berringer helped pull the name out of the drum and said she couldn’t wait to get on the phone and let Barsalou know about his good fortune.
“I’ve had previous winners in disbelief, so when he wins his $50,000, I’m sure he’s going to want it,” Berringer said.
“And it depends when he bought his ticket. If he bought his ticket back in December of last year when we launched this draw, getting a call almost a year later to say he’s a winner is going to be like, ‘OK, really?’”
After expenses, the lottery will provide about $30,000 to the two charities, the money split evenly between them.
Berringer said it’s a lot less than they’d hoped for, but a last-minute push made the raffle a success.
“We were quite nervous through the summer because it was going really slowly and we weren’t sure we were going to come out in a positive way. So we did do a last a appeal and we did work really hard in the last couple of months and Thunder Bay came through for us, so we have made this into a successful draw for us.”
About half the tickets were sold, she added.
Ken Allan of the Kiwanis Club said in the end it was a pretty decent result for the two organizations.
“We were a little disappointed that sales weren’t stronger, but it still will generate enough money for us to continue on with some of the projects and services that we have been supporting Our Kids Count with, as well as other groups in the community,” Allan said.
“We support Our Kids Count as our major partner, but we’ve also worked with the Therapeutic Riding Association and other groups in Thunder Bay, trying to make the lives better for children.”
Berringer said she’s not sure if the draw will be back again, adding Our Kids Count will probably try another route for its next major fundraiser.
