The Portage Rotary Club and Portage Plains United Way's Home and Away Draw took place today. Rotary representative Preston Meier says it was incredible.

"It was great partnering with United Way again this year. It's our second year that we've done it. And it's really neat when you start to bring groups together, right? Many hands make light work, and I think it was one of the most successful draws that we had. We were maybe a little but behind last year, but of course the timeframe I think was about half, as well. So, it certainly was great to be part of that organization."

He adds, "Certainly we want to thank all of the community. I don't want to steal anything away from the United Way, but we want to thank certainly our sponsorships in Rona, Travel Quest and of course Century 21 Fox Realty for the gracious support for the $1,000 cash prize. Of course we want to congratulate the winners. And the Rotary club is really thankful for, first of all the partnership, one; and secondly all of the people that supported the event and bought tickets on it."

Meier explains where Rotary's half of the proceeds go.

"We do add it into a number of the projects that we have ongoing. And of course one of the biggest projects that we have right now is the Rotary Republic Park. And all of the money does stay in the community."

United Way executive director Mandy Dubois says the support was great this year

"I'm really pleased to see the support again for this draw. This is our second year in a row doing this, and this year once again we had great community support. We had a number of people buy tickets, a number of people volunteered to help sell the tickets, and a number of businesses that helped us out, as well as local media. So, it's great to see the support. It's just really important that organizations like ours are able to work together in the future. And the more times you can kind of partner with organizations such as the United Way, the better it is for everybody, and of course the better it is for the community.""

She's excited how it all came together.

"I'm really pleased to see the support again for this draw. This is our second year in a row doing this, and this year once again we had great community support. We had a number of people buy tickets, a number of people volunteered to help sell the tickets, and a number of businesses that helped us out, as well as local media. So, it's great to see the support for both the Rotary Club and United Way."

Dubois shares what happens to the United Way's proceeds.

"Our portion is going to help us continue to do the good work that we do in the community in our catchment area. The money all stays here locally to help us fund our member agencies, our community response fund, and just ensure that the programs and services that are vital for our community stay intact."

Prizes were awarded to the following:

  • The $5,000 Rona gift card went to Diana Aune.
  • The $2,500 Travel Quest voucher went to Stephanie Verhoeven.
  • $1,000 cash went to Vic Giesbrecht.
  • Both organizations gained more than $5,000 each for their local efforts.