LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Ex-Marine buys multiple tickets, wins Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary motorboat raffle


From left, winner Matt Morrow poses with newly acquired raffle prize alongside friend James Andrade and several Rotarians intimately involved as worker bees in yearlong boat rehab, Gary Fulcher, Leander Hauri and Steve Zuk. Photos Thomas Black

When Matt Morrow left his house in Pittsburg to attend the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival last September, he had no idea that as a result he would become the owner of a restored motorboat being raffled there as a fundraiser by Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary.

"I went with a couple of buddies just for a fun afternoon, maybe drink a couple of glasses of wine," he recalled.

As they cruised vendor booths Morrow's eye was drawn to a motorboat the Rotary club was raffling. Ogling it, he pictured himself behind the wheel, tooling about the Delta, maybe waterskiing, maybe fishing, maybe just making waves with the 140-horsepower outboard motor.

To improve the odds of winning, he bought more than one ticket. In fact, he purchased $500 worth, 40 tickets in all.

As his credit card was about to be swiped, one of his buddies, fellow ex-Marine and housemate James Andrade, tried to talk him out of it. "Matt, are you sure? Are you sure?"

Morrow would later confess that although it was pretty much an impulse decision, "I really wanted the boat."

The stub of the winning ducat, drawn Dec. 6, read "Matt Morrow." The following week he and buddy James drove to Lafayette to haul away Morrow's prize, a classic 1963 Glasspar fiberglass runabout.

Worker-bee volunteers from Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary labored for more than a year in restoring the vessel from stem to stern. Street value, including the trailer that came with it, is estimated at $25,000. Pretty good return on $500.

The raffle netted upward of $10,000. Every dollar will be invested in community programs the club sponsors.

Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary meets Fridays over breakfast at the Lafayette Park Hotel. Guests are always welcome. More information: www.lamorindasunrise.org.