It was difficult to determine who was happiest Sunday evening at the Whiskey Republic in Providence, where Johnston Fire Fighters Local 1950 held its second annual Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Raffle.
After Phoebe Szosz, the Rhode Island MDA Chapter’s Goodwill Ambassador, pulled the winning ticket Johnston Lt. Ryan Elmasian quickly announced that the name on the wining ticket was Dominic aRusso.
Almost instantly, the thunderous sound of cheers filled the jam-packed Providence watering hole as aRusso – a Johnston firefighter – made his way to the stage amid hugs and kisses from a host of well-wishers who were obviously thrilled for their fellow union brother.
Local 1950 purchased the spiffy bike – which aRusso will soon receive during a special presentation – from Precision Harley-Davidson of Pawtucket at a reduced cost of $17,000 because the non-profit firefighters have a charitable fund.
“This year’s bike is a step above the HD Fat Boy bike we bought last year,” said Jonathan Pistacchio, Local 1950’s vice president. “The bike probably priced somewhere around $18,000.”
Second prize was a $1,500 voucher from Anyplace Travel, which is located on Atwood Avenue near the fire department’s headquarters. And the winner was Ian McNulty, a truck driver from East Providence who is not a firefighter but was perhaps even more elated than aRusso.
“Hey, I only paid one hundred bucks for my honeymoon,” McNulty mused while standing next to his wonderful wife Katelyn McNulty. “We got married last October and never had a chance to have a honeymoon, but we’re going to have one now.”
The third prize in Sunday night’s drawing was a 55-inch LED television won by Tim Picard, but he was not present.
Pistacchio, while speaking on behalf of Local 1950, announced: “We love those kinds of stories. We raised approximately $15,000 from this year’s raffle and printed 350 tickets. That’s 50 more than a year ago, and we added the two extra prizes.”
And all the money from this year’s raffle, Local 1950 President Keith Calci and Pistacchio emphasized, will go a long way for the charitable fund.
Pistacchio then offered a special “thank you” to Precision Harley-Davidson, the Whiskey Republic, fellow firefighters Dean Venticinque and the Something Else Band, which provided the music at Sunday’s drawing party, as well as raffle coordinator Ryan Elmasian and Patrick Brockway for their help in making this year’s event a success.
“We hope to make this an annual event,” Pistacchio said. “It’s really a great time that we also use to kick off our annual MDA Boot Drive.”
Although that drive won’t take place until Labor Day weekend, Local 1950 on Sunday presented a $1,000 check to Szosz that will be the firefighters donation to that annual filling of the boot to help battle muscular dystrophy.
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