Bulldog Nation Football Raffle another raving success
SANDPOINT — A red army of youth football players in jerseys hit the local streets and businesses recently to sell raffle tickets for the annual Bulldog Football Nation car raffle.
When the dust had finally settled, the program raised a whopping $62,475 dollars, and Dave Solis drove away in a vintage, fully-restored 1971 Dodge Dart Swinger.
But the biggest winners were the hundreds of youth that play football in Sandpoint, as they will take the field in new high end gear, making football more safe, and perhaps more importantly, free to the 170-plus high school kids signed up to play next season.
In the past three years of holding the raffle, Sandpoint has purchased all new helmets, shoulder pads, blocking sleds, coaching headsets and uniforms, none of which comes cheap. The money also helps pay for attending camps, and the kids can focus solely on football going forward.
“It takes a lot of pressure off our kids,” said Bulldogs head coach Satini Puailoa, who has overseen the rebuilding of the program in the past three years. “Kids are safer, and more can play. Money should not be an obstacle for if a kid can play or not.”
Dave Solis, who owns Snap-On Tools in Coeur d’Alene and works in Sandpoint often, bought his usual $100’s worth of raffle tickets, and was surprised when Puailoa called to tell him he’d won. He plans to continue buying tickets as he always has in the past, noting it’s about supporting the kids more than winning a car.
But the car is nice, and Solis, a car enthusiast, is excited to hit the road in his new purple and green ride.
“I didn’t realize how nice it was,” he described. “It’s more than a guy could ask for, it’s beautiful.”
The annual raffle, which Puailoa plans to run again next year, is one of the best high school fundraisers in North Idaho, if not the entire state. A host of community members donate time and money to help restore a car to raffle, and scores more step up to purchase tickets, which in the end, plays a huge part of any success on the field.
“People in this town want to back something positive,” said Puailoa, noting the support makes it possible for anyone and everyone to enjoy the sport he so loves. “The cost to play high school football is zero dollars. There’s been a total upgrade of the program.”
For those wanting a sneak peak at the emerging state power Bulldog football team, live football will hit Sandpoint High School on Monday, June 15, starting at 10 a.m. Glacier High School, the current Montana high school state champs, will join Lake City and East Valley in a four team scrimmage, part of the 15th Annual Border League Football Camp.
More than 500 high school players will pop the pads in a variety of live scrimmages, with several college recruits in action.
The Sandpoint football program wished to thank all of the community members who purchased tickets, and for the following businesses and individuals, each of whom bought a block of raffle tickets to support football in Sandpoint: Litehouse; Schweitzer Mountain Resort; Kaniksu Health Services; Farm Bureau Insurance and Financial Services; Advanced Dental Care; Napa Auto Parts; Corey and Lindsay Coon; Frontier; Mountain View Family Medicine; Hendricks Architecture; Sandpoint Super Drug; North Idaho Spas; Lippert Excavation and Pipeline, Inc.; Cindy Elliot; Firearm Safety Solutions; Puckett and Teague/Realm Partners; Sandpoint Family Medicine; Les Schwab Tire Center; Jim Payne; Zips; Dr. Tom Davies Family Dentistry; Busy Beaver/UPS store; and Pierce Auto.