November has been a good month for Maury Barg to give thanks. It was during a Thanksgiving holiday trip to Eastern North Carolina a dozen years ago that Barg and his wife Rita visited New Bern and then made it their home the next year.
Now, the River Bend homeowner has another November moment to remember — winning the $10,000 drawing in the Bear Bucks Raffle fundraiser for Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corp.
Barg will do the gentlemanly thing and split the prize with his wife.
Not generally a gambling man, Barg said he bought some tickets after getting an email request from his friend Tom McGraw, a Swiss Bear board member.
After the recent drawing at the Holiday Gift Show, Barg got a telephone call from the Raffle Committee Chairwoman Judy Avery, telling him his ticket had been drawn from several thousand that were sold.
“That was very nice, but I thought she was joking,” Barg said. “I bought the tickets because of Tom and he said the money would be used for good things.”
The raffle was to aid Swiss Bear, which has been the ramrod behind the revitalization of downtown since the 1980s.
Barg said he and his wife first came to New Bern on a day trip while visiting their daughter, who had accepted a new job as an attorney in Greenville.
The Bargs had lunch downtown, took in the sights and rode the trolley.
When they returned to their Connecticut home of 40 years, they thought about making a move to New Bern.
They lived in a house on a big lake, so waterfront was important, he said.
They visited several coastal towns, including Bath and Washington, but decided New Bern was the right fit.
“We wanted the river, not a canal,” he said.
The Bear Bucks Raffle kicked off in August with a goal to raise funding and awareness for Swiss Bear. The campaign is expected to raise more than $14,000.
A campaign committee included Avery, along with Linda Mattocks, Susan Braaten, Mike Neill, Michelle Lynn, Christy Rollins, Chad Sittig and Gilbert Stroud.
The Swiss Bear board was divided into five teams, with nine board members each. Team leaders were Bob Mattocks, Bill Fentress, Cindy Turco, Dell Ipock and Ernie Richardson.
Turco’s team had the most overall sales, while Mattock’s group had the most individual sales, with more than $1,000. McGraw, who sold Barg the winning ticket, came in a close second.
Flag company owner Bill Rust provided a flag for highest sales to Mattocks.
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