What Would You Do With $4,000?

Her $4,000 cash prize might be just what Mary Bley, Port Washington resident and grand-prize winner of the , needed to bring herself up to date.

Calling herself not the most technology savvy person out there, Bley said her son has been helping to upgrade everything in her house from TVs to computers, and this $4,000 now gives him a "higher budget for technology."

"I just can't believe it. All I could say (when they told me I won) is I can't believe it," she said. "It's a nice surprise."

Pat Modjeski, tournament coordinator for the group, was very involved in the organization's first annual raffle, which he said is meant to fund "field maintenance and upgrades and savings for development of a new complex here in the Port Washington-Saukville Area."

The group was able to sell 1,811 tickets at $5 each, raking in a total of $9,055. Bley walked away with $4,000 of that for her cash prize, and six other winners shared another $1,000 — leaving the group with about a $4,000 profit after other expenses.

The other winners include:

• 2nd place: Rick Bilder of West Allis, won $300;
  
• 3rd place: Sue Steuerwalk of Adell, won $200;
• 4th place: Gladys Roden of Saukville, won $150;
• 5th place: Greg Ross of Port Washington, won $150;
  
• 6th place: Lyla Zimmermann of Belgium, won $100;
  
• 7th place: Wendy Andersen of Port Washington, won $100.

Modjeski said the group had guaranteed cash prizes totalling $5,000 when selling the tickets in order to add appeal to the raffle.

The raffle had been planned to end with a splash during Port Youth Baseball & Softball's pool party, when winners were expected to be drawn, but that was canceled due to the Pirate's Hollow Community Waterpark's pool closing after a child mistook the pool for a toilet.

Still, the group met in the parking lot of the waterpark in order to let people know about the cancellation that happened just an hour before the party was to start  — it's hard to call 1,000 people to tell thim it's off, Modjeski explained. The winners were chose from that lot at 8 p.m. Sunday — and then notified by phone call.

Of the canceled pool party, Modjeski said, "We weren't so lucky, but Mary was."

Residents and visitors can look for their chance to win next year, when supporters of Port Youth's Baseball & Softball again hit the streets and festivals looking for raffle ticket buyers.

"We’re planning on coming back next year as well and having more notoriety," Modjeski said, "and, it's really nice that somebody local won so that we can say, 'Yes, this is better for the (whole) community.' "