Windham – It was standing room only at the Annual Turkey Raffle at Windham’s Fire Station Monday night November 20, 2017. The event raises money for small equipment, supplies for the fire station and other items that the WVFD District doesn’t cover. The raffle this year had 35 turkeys, 15 hams and 50 second-spin prizes.
Here’s is the lowdown on how things worked. Folks entered the fire station and each one was given a door prize ticket just for being there. This year’s door prize was a leaf blower. One could then purchase 50/50 raffle tickets at the door as well. Each person purchased as many tickets as they would like for each round of the raffle for $1 apiece. Every ticket purchased had two chances to win for that round. After all the tickets for the round were sold, they’d spin the wheel. The number that came up was the winning number. There could be more than one winner per round and one could choose between a turkey and a ham until the hams were gone. Then it was just turkeys.
But wait, there’s more. Each round contained two spins, the first one was for a turkey or ham, and the second spin was for prizes donated by local businesses. Many of the donations this year were cash on behalf of area businesses. Some of the folks who won cash, just reinvested it into the raffle, making it a win /win for the firemen and the winner. Some of the other donations were oil changes, gift baskets, car wash, maple syrup, pizza, gift cards, and so much more. Making the second round spins almost as sweet as the first round spins
Trying to find out how long the raffle has been going on was a tough feat. As near as anyone can remember, it has been going on for more than 35 years, but no one seemed to know exactly how many years. Chief Rich Gano said, I’ve been here 35 years, and it’s been going on long before I became a fireman.” He also said, “Many of the same faces return year after year to help support the firemen. It has always been a great event that many in the community look forward to each year.”
It was a fun event that gave one a chance to win a bird or ham for the holidays while investing in the community, making it a win/win for everyone.
