The Rotary car dropped through the ice of Smith’s Bay on March 12, at 8:38 a.m. The winning ticket was held by Patrick Lamoureux of Okoboji. Patrick purchased the ticket at the Dry Dock and was thrilled with his $1000 cash prize. Patrick remarked that when he purchased the ticket, “I thought all the good times were gone”. It goes to show that one never knows when the car will take the plunge! The car was listing heavily to the side on March 11th, before dropping out of sight on Thursday morning.
The Rotary Car Drop is an annual fundraiser for the Iowa Great Lakes Rotary Club. Tickets are sold for each minute of the day and one ticket includes both the a.m. and p.m. time. Funds raised by Rotary are used for community projects including a playground at Shelby Duis Park, Camp Foster facilities, and other community needs.
Rotary thanks the Dry Dock, The Hutt and McKean’s for their partnership in selling car drop tickets. This year a record number of tickets were sold with only 7 tickets remaining at the time the car went into the lake.
The Rotary car was encased in Iowa when it was retrieved from Smith's Bay on Friday the 13th!