A big splash of cash

This story was featured in the August 2023 edition of Sandusky Living magazine. If you're interested in purchasing a copy, call the Register at 419-502-2130 while supplies last. Dean Howman came back to Sandusky from West Virginia in 2003 with an idea that would change the Sandusky Maritime Museum forever. In addition to being the former interim chief of the Sandusky Fire Department, Howman had been a founding member of both the Sandusky Area Maritime Association and its maritime museum. The museum had opened a little over a decade prior in a small space on Market Street. It had since moved to its current location on Meigs Street. The museum had been hosting small fundraisers and collecting private donations, but something more lucrative was needed to keep it afloat. "Dean was always looking for ways to fund the museum," Candy Howman, Dean's wife, said. He had been in West Virginia to attend a raffle for a volunteer fire department. Unlike most raffles, this one was giving away big-ticket prizes. When Howman came back, he was inspired to create his own to benefit the Sandusky Maritime Museum. The next year, the maritime museum hosted its first Big Splash Raffle. Candy recalled that the first year of the raffle was scary. Organizers had put $250,000 into an event that they were unsure would be successful. She and her husband passed out flyers on the street to advertise the event, she remembered watching people drop them as soon as they walked away. "In the first year, we barely sold 2,000 tickets," Dawn Weinhardt, event treasurer, said. "We had to scale back our prize list at that time." Despite that, the event paved the way for the future. "But it created a lot of momentum," Weinhardt continued. "A lot of people had a good time, a lot of people had fun at the event and it has just grown since then." This year, the Big Splash will host its nineteenth raffle on Aug. 19 with a warm-up event on Aug. 18. The event has a quarter of a million dollars in prizes. There are over $90,000 in cash prizes, as well as a Chevy Trax, two Pedego Electric Bikes, a Ford Mustang, a Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle and a Jeep Wrangler. The Big Splash's prizes are not the result of donations — they are funded through ticket sales. "With the exception of one of the smaller prizes from Pedego (Electric Bikes), we purchase outright all of the prizes." Molly Sampson, executive director of the museum, said. Five thousand tickets are available each year. While they haven't sold out in the past, Weinhardt hopes this is the year they will. Last year, the event sold roughly 4,300 tickets in total. According to Sampson, this year's event had sold around 4,000 tickets as of mid-June. Renaming the event "I've known Dean for 20-some years," Weinhardt said. "He had a lot of passion for the Maritime Museum. If you ask anybody, that was his museum and I think his passion for the museum is what made me want to participate." Howman passed away in October 2022 at the age of 82. "My appreciation for the Sandusky Maritime Museum came from Dean and I have passed that down to my family as well," one friend posted on Facebook after his death. The museum has now renamed the event in his honor — the Dean Howman Memorial Big Splash Raffle. "Our group, the Maritime directors and the Big Splash committee, felt we needed to honor him in that way by naming this raffle after him," Weinhardt said. "Even last year, when he was so sick, he'd still come and check up on us." After all this time, the Howman family is still heavily involved in the raffle. Candy still serves on the raffle committee and many of the family members volunteer at the event, with the youngest being 19 years of age. The raffle has resulted in significant changes for the maritime museum. "We certainly wouldn't have been able to expand our footprint, which we have," Weinhardt said. "The museum itself encompasses three buildings. I know that the Howman Boat School would not exist if we didn't have the Big Splash raffle. We would have a much smaller museum, probably with limited hours." "This event is what keeps the museum operating," Sampson said. "It covers more than 60% of the operating costs, so not only does it self-sustain the event, it makes sure the museum can carry out our mission of preserving and sharing our local maritime history." Event lineup On Friday, Aug. 18, from 6-9 p.m., the Bash Before the Splash event will give away over $6,000 in raffle and 50/50 drawings. Past 50/50 prizes have included grills, kayaks and camping packages. There will be food and beverage vendors as well as live music from the band Venyx. "Friday night is basically like a big party to get everyone excited," Sampson said. On Saturday, Aug. 19, from 1-5 p.m., the Big Splash will give away prizes every five minutes with a final drawing of $50,000. The Sandusky Bay Pavillion, 605 E. Water St., will be taken over for the event. The gates will open at noon and attendees will be able to enjoy food trucks, beverage vendors, and music. Side raffles and 50/50s fill the space between noon and the beginning of big drawings at 1 p.m. The raffle is open to anyone 18 and older and those who wish to participate may purchase multiple tickets. Tickets can be purchased from one of 30 vendors ranging from North Ridgeville to Put-in-Bay. "Our outside vendors have been really great, really enthusiastic," Sampson said. "We've added a couple more this year on Kelleys Island and Put-in-Bay and that was very much them saying 'Hey we want to be a part of this, how can we help?'" The event's organization takes all year. Once the event ends in August, the committee must begin coordinating with dealerships in order to process purchases of cars for next year's raffle. The early coordination allows the museum to purchase cars within its budget. Tickets are printed by the first week of October in order to be put on sale on Black Friday. Where you can buy tickets Here are vendors that sell Big Splash tickets: Bay View • Rayz on the Bay, 1101 E. Bayview Drive Bellevue • Hunter's Needs, 1831 W. Main St. Castalia • Bar 101, 117 Main St. Huron • Knucklehead Saloon, 2012 Cleveland Road W. • J & J Sales, 1001 Sprowl Road • Patio Tavern, 4708 Clevleand Road E. Elyria • Bailey's Bar and Grille, 800 W. River Road N. Fremont • Pub 400, 400 N. Stone St. Kelleys Island • Seaway Marina, 240 E. Lakeshore Drive Norwalk • Dublo's Carry Out, 6 Madison St. • Firelands Auto Group, 300 Milan Ave. • Ken Ganley Auto Group, 226 Milan Ave. North Ridgeville • Kim's Family Restaurant, 37863 U.S. 20 Oak Harbor • Howey's House of Brews, 131 W. Water St. Port Clinton • Shores & Islands Ohio, 770 SE Catawba Road • New Wave, 1425 W. Lakeshore Drive • J & J Sales, 475 SE Catawba Road Put-in-Bay • Commodore Resort, 272 Delaware Drive • Victory Station, 489 Catawba Ave. • Mr. Ed's Bar & Grille, 300 Delaware Ave. Sandusky • Maritime Museum of Sandusky, 125 Meigs St. • Shores & Islands Ohio, 125 E. Water St. • Firelands Auto Group, 904 E. Strub Road • Construction Equipment & Supply, 3015 Old Railroad Road • Mad River Harley-Davidson, 5316 Milan Road (U.S. 250) • Sail In, 631 Meigs St. • Sidetrax Bar, 5510 Barrett Road Vermilion • Dewey Furniture, 4483 Liberty Ave. • Firelands Auto Group, 2315 Ohio 60