Well, they did it again! Year number 6 of The Rotary Club of Burton-Middlefield’s (BMR) Maple Splash Raffle (MSR) was bigger and better than ever. At this year’s festival featuring the raffle’s grand drawing a record crowd filled the grounds of Century Village in Burton, Ohio. A great selection of food trucks was spread around the grounds with a variety of tasty food. A yearly performance by the band “Rockability” started the day off with their rousing songs followed by this year’s new featured band “Pieces of Eight”, a group of musicians with heavy brass instruments with back-ups was extraordinary and kept the crowd rockin’ all afternoon and into the evening. The Raffle basket area featured over 100 gift baskets of all sorts and varieties and was shoulder to shoulder all afternoon with ticket buyers. It was a big money maker for the event. Club President Jeff Pascoe and wife Kelly and helpers ran a very busy 
beer tent on a hot and humid day and kept the crowd refreshed. Ticket sales were brisk all day with attendees purchasing MSR tickets for a final try at the beautiful black Chevy Silverado pick-up truck and the additional 20 prizes including cash gifts of $500, $500, $1000 and $2500 which were well received by their winners. The second raffle was the Outdoor Adventure Package (OAP) geared to hunters and outdoor activities. These tickets were sold on-line only at “maplesplashraffle.com”. The winner of the OAP took home a rugged ATV and several hunting enthusiasts were thrilled with their hunting crossbows, tents, tree stands and other quality hunting gear that came in the hunting package. Next came the drawing for the winner of the MSR on-line 50-50. This popular contest built up to an incredible $16,000 over the life of the raffle with the winner (who was present) walked out with a check for almost $8000! Yes, that’s correct $8000! There was also an on-site 50-50 that was held only on festival day and that winner took home $1040. Other activities that kept the crowd of approximately 500 highly entertained were club president Jeff acting as the villain in the Sheriff’s K-9 demonstration. Once again the dog came out on top. The sheriff’s K-9 unit was the recipient of a $5000 grant from BMR under club president Jeff this year that covered a large portion of vet bills for the dogs. These demonstrations prove time and again that when the deputy yells “Stop! or we’ll turn the dog lose” that person really needs to stop! A new feature this year was a Middlefield resident and local business owner sharing his incredible singing talent by performing several songs. The audience was amazed at this local talent as we marveled at his amazing performance that almost no one had heard of him.
The highlight and most impressive part of the whole festival is the 40 non-profits that came and put up their tents to display literature and give aways and connect with the crowd. Our passport program allows attendees to go from booth to booth and listen to the non-profits give them a brief explanation of exactly what they do. The attendee then has the booth sign their “passport”. When the passport is complete the attendee turns it in and is then registered for a gigantic gift basket valued at several hundred dollars. The non-profits raved about how this program gives them a steady stream of audience to which they can present to; something they are not usually exposed to at most other locations they present at. 
The most important supporters of the raffle and festival are of course the sponsors. We had over 50 sponsors this year that made the whole fund raiser possible. They range from $100 dollar sponsors to $10,000 and all contribute to our success. They are recognized in our media advertising and in recent years, our on-line ads and street signs that you see around the county. Last year Burton-Middlefield gave away over $80,000 in donations to a variety of non-profits that support many needs in our community. This year we hope to meet or exceed that figure as BMR becomes one of the biggest sources of a wide variety of large donations in Geauga. Come join us next year for the biggest free and fun festival in the county. And buy those tickets starting this December! Together we can all make Geauga an even better place to live. And if you like what we do and want to have as much fun and satisfaction as we do consider joining up with us. Enriching your friendships while doing good in the world and becoming part of Rotary’s motto: “Service Above Self” Donation checks will be distributed to the non-profit recipients at this year’s MSR Festival appreciation event held at Welshfield Inn in August or early September.
PDG Bob Johnson
Burton Middlefield Rotary