Andrew Tessier, of Raymond, was the lucky winner of a 2021 Ford Bronco raffled off by the I-5 Auto Group at Friday’s Swamp Cup football game in Centralia.
This year, the auto group surpassed $1 million in funds raised for area groups since the annual raffle was first launched 13 years ago. Tickets are sold throughout the year by high schools, clubs and groups, which in turn get to keep the money. The tickets are $10 each.
The first year I-5 Toyota gave away a vehicle, only W.F. West High School and Centralia High School participated. Now, many surrounding schools, clubs and groups in Lewis and Thurston counties sell raffle tickets each year to raise money for different organizations.
“We’ve made it really open to a lot of different groups,” said Heidi Pehl, the owner and dealer principal of I-5 Auto Group.
“The wine mixer is almost always the Thursday before Valentine’s Day,” Pehl said. “That’s where we do the unveiling of that year's special raffle vehicle.”
The mixer and unveiling kicks off the raffle-buying period. Then the drawing for the vehicle giveaway takes place at halftime of the annual Swamp Cup, the W.F. West-Centralia rivalry football game which is the area’s biggest football event.
“This is 100% personal,” Pehl said of her decision to donate a car every year. “A lot of people think the manufacturers give us the car, but they don’t. This is something we do. Businesses are asked for donations for worthy causes every day and simply write a check to those they choose to support. I-5 Auto Group wanted to take that a step further and do something special.”
The successful raffle sold close to 10,000 tickets, putting the total amount raised at over $1 million since its inception.
“This was our way of opening it to anyone,” Pehl said. “You can sell 10 raffle tickets and make $100 for your program. Or, we had a Centralia basketball team that wanted to participate in a tournament in Alaska a few years ago and they sold a ton of tickets.”
