The Motivating Youth Organization held a drawing at the youth program’s east Macon location, bringing its Million Dollar Dream Home Raffle to a close. However, no mansion was raffled off Saturday.
“We couldn’t give away a $1.1 million house and sell only two tickets. ... The rules were that we had to sell 20,000 tickets in order to give away the house. We did not meet that goal. In order to give away the car from Youman’s Chevrolet, Mr. Youman set that goal at 10,000. We did not meet that goal.”
During the eight-month raffle period, they sold 583 tickets.
“I’m not sad, I’m not disappointed,” said Roger Jackson, program executive director. “I am elated that a program of this size can take on an event like this here, and I consider it still a success, because we’re still going to have money going to the scholarship fund.”
The organization gave away 5th, 4th, and 3rd place prizes, along with the grand prize Saturday. The 2nd place prize would have been the 2011 Chevy Cruze from Youman’s.
The raffle proceeds are to go to a new college scholarship fund that Jackson said will benefit not only the students in his Motivating Youth program, but students all over the region.
“(Ticket buyers) contributed not to win,” Jackson said. “They contributed to be a winner with the youth.”
The grand prize went to Katie Harris of Villa Rica. She received a check of $8,348.89. The same amount will go to the Motivating Youth scholarship fund, Jackson said.
Due to the organization not meeting the grand prize 20,000 ticket goal, the winner was to receive “a cash Grand Prize equal to $50 times the number of tickets sold, less one half expenses and amount of awards of early bird drawings,” the rules stated.
The organization failed to sell the 3,000 necessary for early bird drawings, so those did not occur.
“There was a great amount of expense trying to get the word out nationally,” Jackson said.
Per the contest rules, after selling 583 tickets for $100 each, the grand prize payout came after nearly $41,600 in expenses.
After the drawing, Jackson said the expenses included “all advertising and gas.”
Jackson told the more than a dozen people in attendance that he hoped to do future raffles for the scholarship fund, perhaps for a car or smaller house. Next time, he said, the tickets might be cheaper.
Fifth place, a Dell laptop computer, valued at $500 was awarded to James Lary Jr., of Macon.
Linda Harris, also of Macon, won the fourth place prize of $1,000.
Patsy Houston, who won the third prize -- a $2,000 gift certificate to Ken’s Audio and Video -- was the only winner present at the drawing.
Houston said she bought just one $100 raffle ticket, so the prize was well-worth her money.
“I said even if I didn’t win, it’d be going to a good cause,” she said.
To contact writer Caryn Grant, call 744-4347.
