McIvers spreads its Chase the Ace wealth

While the community of Bay de Verde remains divided by its successful Chase the Ace run, the western Newfoundland town of McIvers is still basking in the afterglow from the wealth generated by its own fundraiser. 

"We had some needs in our town that we saw an opportunity to take advantage of," says McIvers Mayor Warren Blanchard, who is also the chair of the Come Home Year committee. 

The jackpots for the Chase the Ace events in both towns were awarded last fall, with the winners in each community walking away with over $725,000. In Bay de Verde, the game was started as a church fundraiser, while in McIvers, it was a way to raise money for the town's Come Home Year committee.

But that's where the tale of two towns with the same wildly successful fundraiser diverge into different aftermaths. In Bay de Verde, allegations of potential sole-sourced contracts, anger over a $100,00 donation to a neighbouring parish as well as suspicion and hard feelings persist months after the game came to an end.

New playground, fire equipment

In McIvers, the game of chance raised more than $900,000 for the town's first ever Come Home Year, which kicks off July 22.

But Blanchard said before it was all blown on a ceelbration, the town decided to give back to the community first since almost everyone in the town chipped in during the Chase the Ace frenzy. 

The biggest project cost $150,000 for a new playground, as the old one was plagued by safety concerns. 

It has also been decided that the volunteer fire department is worthy of a financial thank-you for the role it played as Chase the Ace continued.

Every Sunday, thousands of people flocked to the small Bay of Islands town of less than 600 people in the hopes of winning big.The only road to the community was often chaotic with bumper-to-bumper traffic on game day, and it was the volunteer fire department that helped keep things moving and safe.

So, the Come Home Year committee donated $100,000 to the department, which will be used to buy a much-needed new fire truck and portable water pumper. 

"This was fantastic. This is a lot of ticket-selling if we had to do it [without the donation]. It's going to help us out," said fire chief David George, who is also on the Come Home Year committee.

A slice of the financial pie made its way to other smaller projects — like new flooring for the seniors club and new fencing for the basketball court and cemetery.

'We had a few wrinkles'

The Come Home Year committee is made up of organizations all around the town and divvying up the money wasn't always a perfect process, admitted Blanchard.

"We had a few wrinkles, I guess, as you would in any committee. But we were able to resolve them and move along, and we're so much better for it," he said. 

But as for the original catalyst for chasing the ace, Blanchard said the town's Come Home Year celebrations are getting more money than originally planned for entertainment, in addition to an upgrade for the town's boat launch, which will be used for some of the festivities.

The celebrations are expected to draw 1,700 people — which is 1,100 more than the population of the community. But Blanchard isn't too concerned about the influx of people. After all, the town already learned the ropes during last year's Chase the Ace event, which is still paying off.