ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Several people left Light Park Saturday with prizes and money, and one of those included Liberal’s Bart Osstavam, who took home a brand new 2025 Jeep Wrangler from Chrysler Corner.
Osstavam won the vehicle after his name was drawn from the many tickets for Seward County United Way’s raffle fundraiser which brought Saturday’s Duck Race Festival to a close.
The raffle started a few months ago, with participants registering at local businesses and events, and with many tickets sold and a happy winner, SCUW Director Patricia Fierro said the fundraiser went quite well.
“It’s a lot of work,” she said. “We’ve learned some things we’re going to be modifying for the next time we do this. It was a first time, so lots of learning experiences, but I think it went well overall.”
Promotions for the raffle had Fierro driving the Jeep in local and area parades, including the recent Little World’s Fair in Kismet and the Seward County PRCA Rodeo parade in Liberal, and the Jeep could be seen with raffle sales at events such as the rodeo itself. Fierro said through the promotions, she felt she built a connection with the Jeep.
“I felt I was literally married to the Jeep for the whole time we were doing the raffle,” she said. “It was a very big commitment for sure. It was great. I enjoyed all of it. I enjoyed being able to interact with people and allowing them to be able to see the vehicle and see it is a real thing and a legit drawing.”
Fierro said she was not sure if it was actually possible to be married to a vehicle, but she said the raffle took up much of her time over the past few months.
“It took all of my holidays and weekends,” she said. “It was a very big commitment for sure.”
Fierro said United Way is looking to build off the success of this year’s raffle, the first of its kind for SCUW, and she is confident it will continue in the future.
“We talked about different things with how we make modifications and changes to be able to make this a more successful raffle,” she said.
Osstavam was the last of nearly 20 winners awarded Saturday between the raffle, the Duck Race and United Way’s Chili and Taco Cookoff, and Fierro said having so many winners in one day was amazing.
“It was great being able to provide prizes to so many people,” she said. “It was pretty awesome.”
Osstavam was initially not at Light Park for the drawing, and Fierro called him to tell him the good news. Naturally, the raffle winner was quite excited.
“It’s awesome, and hearing his emotion over the phone was pretty awesome,” she said. “I know he’s pretty excited and happy, and hopefully, this is a big blessing for him and his family.”
Osstavam bought five tickets in the drawing, as did a friend of his, and Fierro said the winning ticket was purchased at the PRCA rodeo in August.
Fierro said Osstavam seemed to be a little shocked when he heard the news about winning the Jeep.
“He was not expecting this phone call,” she said. “We’re very happy we were able to make his day, and hopefully, this is a big blessing for him.”
