22-02-2025
Marshall Mitchell: Mitchell fire union's Chase the Ace smolders out after reaching UTV fundraiser goal
Feb. 21—MITCHELL — Where has the ace of hearts gone?
The Mitchell Fire Department union's UTV fundraiser Chase the Ace is missing in action.
Union and fire administration have cited department-wide flu, venues falling through and changes in union leadership for dropping the deck on what was previously a regular drawing that raised funds to pay off a UTV that was purchased for the fire department.
The Chase the Ace raffle, with the most recent drawing on Jan. 3 and along with donations and grants, reached the fundraising goal and the UTV was purchased.
"With the closure of the Back 40, we were as surprised as everybody else," said former Mitchell fire union president Shannon Sandoval, who spearheaded the Chase the Ace fundraiser. "The event had slowed down with winter months. It was good to kind of put a quick pause on it, giving us time to figure out how we could finish it, because at that point, we had had enough donations to finance the project fully."
Mitchell's fire union, chapter 4166, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, purchased the $37,700 Cam-Am Defender utility vehicle and installed a skit kit for $5,000. Headlights and other amenities have also been purchased. A commissioning celebration at Iverson Powersports is forthcoming.
In August 2024, the fire union organized a raffle during Dakotafest, but was
interrupted when a citizen brought the topic to Davison County Administrator Jeff Bathke, who forwarded the concern to the auditor's office
, who then called the Davison County Sheriff's Office to shut them down for not notifying their office of the raffle.
The current jackpot is $8,366. Under the Chase the Ace rules, one raffle ticket will be drawn, which gives the ticket holder the chance to choose a card off the board looking for the ace of hearts. Drawing that card entitles the winner to 50% of the jackpot. The Chase the Ace raffle was held at the Back 40 Taphouse Grill from September 2024 until the location closed in January. The event started at the VFW Post 2750 in June 2024 and was held weekly until October, when it became a monthly drawing. On Jan. 17, the 4166 union's Facebook page said that Chase the Ace was taking a break. No public update has been released since.
The Mitchell Republic inquired to the Mitchell Fire Department about the UTV fundraiser the fourth week of January, and again the second week of February, but fire officials did not have an exact date for the next drawing or the UTV commissioning.
Fire Chief Dan Pollreisz told the Mitchell Republic on Feb. 18 that the final Chase the Ace jackpot drawing would most likely be held March 8 at the Masonic Temple following an EMS refresher course in the main hall, but union leaders indicated that this date may not work for the venue as there was already an evening event to be held there. Finally, the temple agreed to let the union use an upper room for the fundraiser.
"We just didn't want to put a burden on another business for the benefit of the fire department, so we thought this would be the best way to do that," Sandoval said.
Before
the recent changes in leadership at the firehouse
, Sandoval resigned as union president and went back to the floor. Sandoval had duties as fire marshal, union president, running the weekly UTV fundraiser and a home inspection business on the side.
"I had just worn myself a little thin. I needed a quick reset," Sandoval said.
The Masonic Temple, which is offering its venue to the fire union for an administrative fee, will have a cash bar open during the Chase the Ace final drawing. Any alcohol sales for the night would go to the lodge and not to the fire union, according to Sandoval.
The Chase the Ace fundraiser started with 52 cards and ran for 22 weeks. There are 30 cards left. Union leaders have not decided if there will be prizes for drawing a losing card, as there was for the first 22 weeks, when a losing card would win 10% of the proceeds raised that week.
A Pink Ladies dart league in Hudson, a South Dakota town with a population of 311, raised about $350,000 through donations and raffle tickets for a Chase the Queen fundraiser to help cancer survivors.
The fundraiser lasted until there was only three cards left.
The fire union will share 50/50 of the pot with the person who finds the ace of hearts. For every dollar the pot grows, the more money the fire union will have and the less fundraising they'll have to do. The more opportunities for the pot to grow, the more money for the union and for winning ticket holders. The fire union has a potential 30 more weeks to run the fundraiser, but is choosing to end it in one night.
"We talked about removing some (cards) to make it go faster," said Tom Schaffner, who is the union secretary/treasurer and a firefighter/EMT.
Raffle tickets can be purchased for $5 at the event or through the union's Venmo account ahead of the event in increments of $10.
"We will be doing a rapid fire drawing so someone will win the pot that night. We will keep drawing until someone finds the ace of hearts," Sandoval said.
The final drawing will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 8 in an upper room of the Masonic Temple.
