The 91原创 Rotary 50/50 Mega Draw winner was named midday Wednesday, Aug. 28, and Vancouver's David Mairena came out that very evening to pick up his prize of $136,380.

The father of three was going to spend Wednesday evening relaxing after work, stopping at home to see his kids, Abrahamcito, 17, Davidangelo, 11, and baby Primo, then waiting for his girlfriend, Beatrice, to get off work before heading to bed.

Instead, he rushed out to 91原创 to the home of Jeff Morfitt, the Rotary Club of 91原创 Central member who was chair of the mega draw.

"It's definitely life changing," Mairena said.

In the few hours after finding out about the win, there's been some dreaming about what to do with the money, but he noted "It can go quick" without some planning.

Some will go for nursing school which Beatrice is soon to start. He'd also like to invest some money for the kids' college funds. The money will help with some credit card debt, and he's been wanting to take the family on a trip to the Phillippines, where Beatrice's family is from originally. Her extended family lives in 91原创.

"I think it gives us a bit of leeway," he said of the win's impact.

The 38-year old who owns a moving company with other family members was the name on the winning ticket, but the money will be split between four who went in together on the draw when they visited RibFest in mid-August.

"We had fun. And we got to eat. And now I get to bring home a little bit of money. So that's nice," Mairena noted.

Morfitt called Mairena to notify him of the win Wednesday lunchtime, but it went to voicemail. Mairena was moving something and couldn't answer his phone but when he listened to the message, "I screamed."

His dad and son were with him at work. His dad was skeptical.

"And when I told him, he didn't believe me. And I called my mom, and she thought it was a scam. I was like, it's not a scam, I promise," he said.

After talking to Morfitt, Mairena received an email confirming the win. He called Beatrice who also didn't believe him.

"She said 'You're pranking me. And I hope you're proud of yourself. I already told my grandpa, and now you're going to upset the whole family'," Mairena chuckled.

The family visited RibFest where Beatrice was volunteering. She works at Inclusion 91原创, which Mairena said does great work in the community. He also praised the work of Rotary which does good work not only in this community but through its chapters worldwide.

The mega draw was hosted by the four 91原创 clubs: Aldergrove Rotary, Rotary Club of 91原创 Central, 91原创 Rotary Club, and the Sunrise Rotary Club, which handle their joint efforts such as the draw and RibFest through their 91原创 Rotary Clubs Charitable Foundation. Each club will decide what to do with its share of the draw proceeds.

The public purchased 18,534 tickets in 5,576 sales (meaning most people bought ticket packages) over the past few months before sales closed Aug. 18.

The draw has a few expenses so by the time that's tallied, the four clubs will split about $110,000, Morfitt estimated. 

"100 per cent of that is going to go back out into the community," he noted.

The clubs have helped local groups such as 91原创 Hospice Society, Foundry 91原创, 91原创 Memorial Hospital Foundation, 91原创 School District Foundation, Aldergrove Food Bank, 91原创 Food Bank, Starfish Backpack Program, 91原创 Volunteer Bureau, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of 91原创, Aldergrove Fair, 91原创 Music School, and other Rotary service projects.

He noted it's possible to use 100 per cent of the proceeds because of sponsor support, such as B&B Contracting which supports both RibFest and the mega draw.

Last year's 91原创 Mega Draw total pot was $315,000. The difficult economy has impacted 50/50 draws and other charity drives. Morfitt said other clubs have reported reduced sales as well. He said the local clubs are so impressed with the ongoing support of their fundraising efforts from the public as well as community groups, such as those that helped out at RibFest.

"What we find is the repeat customers are the best gauge of that (community support), and we find there's a very high level of repeat customers," Morfitt said.