Give Hunger the Bird fundraiser a success
<p>About 600 people attended the ninth annual Give Hunger the Bird fundraiser for the Post Falls Food Bank on Saturday, where it was announced that Gary and Trudy Libey won a new Porsche and Stancraft boat.</p>
<p>Gary and Trudy Libey won a 2017 Stancraft Riverboat and 2017 Porsche Macan S through the Drive Away Hunger raffle to support the Post Falls Food Bank. They’re seen here eight years ago on top of Steptoe Butte during their first “Ultimate Road Trip,” where they take winning bidders on day trips around the Northwest.</p>
POST FALLS — A Colfax couple got the treat of a lifetime when they won a car and a boat on Saturday, but when they received the phone call about the amazing news, they thought it was a friend pranking them.
"I'm still not sure I really believe it," Gary Libey said Monday afternoon. "It's shocking. You think, 'Wow, that's cool.' I mean it's for a great cause that they were selling tickets. I happened to buy the right one at the right time."
Gary and his wife, Trudy, won a glossy white 2017 Porsche Macan S with a black and garnet red leather interior and a 2017 Stancraft Riverboat to match. The lucky couple's winning ticket was announced Saturday during the Post Falls Food Bank's ninth annual Give Hunger the Bird fundraiser, which featured the car/boat prize in the inaugural Drive Away Hunger raffle. They weren't present at the event, but were soon contacted about their winning ticket.
"It was one big raffle prize. He bought a ticket back in June at an event and went about his life," Post Falls Food Bank executive director Leslie Orth said. "When we called him he was like, 'What?!'"
The raffle tickets were $100 each and the odds were great, Orth said. Almost 1,900 tickets were sold at the time the winner was drawn.
"The boat is $85,000 and the car is about $75,000," Orth said. "It's pretty exciting."
Ironically, Gary and Trudy donate "Ultimate Road Trips" as auction items to their local foundations, such as the hospital and library. They take winning bidders sightseeing and wherever they want for a day. Gary said one group of people wanted to hit golf balls off Steptoe Butte and another enjoyed wine-tasting in Walla Walla with the Libeys.
Now they can drive to their destinations in style in a brand new-Porsche.
"I've never driven a car that can go faster than 100 miles per hour," Gary said. "I'm just a Ford guy."
Gary said he plans to donate his current vehicle, a Ford Expedition, to Homestead Ministries, with which he and Trudy are involved. Homestead Ministries is a non-denominational Christian faith-based organization that provides food to Inland Northwest families in need, and it just happened to need a new delivery vehicle.
Although Orth didn't have all the final numbers crunched on Monday, she said this was the biggest Give Hunger the Bird event, with about 600 people in attendance. The paddle raise auction alone brought in $40,000.
"I'm overwhelmed," she said. "I'm from another state and I have never seen this level of altruism. The people here, the mindset here, are pretty humbling because everybody steps up and says, 'What can I do?' 'How can I help?'"
The event, which was held at the StanCraft facility in Hayden, featured live music, food, beverages and an all-around good time for all.
"It was a big party in the warehouse," Orth said. "This is really our big event for the year, and this is the one we rely on to keep the doors open and the lights on."
She said the idea and donations for the car and boat raffle came from board member and car dealer George Gee and former board member Robb Bloem of Stancraft.
"We have some amazing people in this town," she said. "We look forward to repeating this raffle next year."