Electrical contractor will raffle generator for Wounded Warriors

COLORA, Md. -- An electrical contractor whose customer backed out of a deal to buy a generator will raffle it off and give the money to the Wounded Warrior Project at an April 27 drawing in the Oxford Farmers Maarket.

David Gomez, 32, lives in Colora, Md., but he services customers up and down the Route 1 corridor from West Chester to Lancaster. His business, D&E Electrical Services specializes in security cameras and generators.

He has a generator that he intends to raffle because he was stuck with it after a customer ordered it before Hurricane Sandy, paid half and then decided not to take possession of it or pay the rest after the Hurricane didn’t strike here, Gomez said.

The 7,500-watt generator had been especially ordered and was not returnable. Gomez said he was then stuck with the $1,200 machine, and, because the customer afterward disputed the charges with the credit card company, he didn’t get any payment at all.

Gonmez, a veteran of the war in Bosnia, said he was thinking about what to do, and he was reminded of a friend who had suffered post traumatic stress syndrome from the war.

He knew that the Wounded Warrior Project, a national program, is well known for providing services to members of the military who are suffering the effects of war, and it seemed like a worthy recipient of contributions.

“Post traumatic stress -- it’s important to me. I still have nightmares. I don’t think it ever goes away. You wake up in a cold sweat,” he said.

Now he and his wife, Ellie, are selling raffle tickets to cover the price of the generator and then give the remaining money to Wounded Warrior. Ellie said if they sell 800 tickets at $5 apiece, they will be able to cover the costs of the raffle and the generator as well as contribute $1,000 to Wounded Warrior.

The winning ticket in the raffle will get the portable generator capable of running a refrigerator, the Internet connection, a sump pump and some lights, should the power fail.

Gomez said this generator is powered by gasoline. He added that the reason gas stations were crowded with lines and running out of fuel in New York after Sandy is not that people were driving out of town, but that they were trying to get gasoline for their generators to maintain their appliances and sump pumps.

Currently, there are raffle tickets being sold at the Oxford Farmers Market on Route10 north of the borough. The drawing will be held there at 2 p.m. on April 27.

Gomez is also seeking other venues where the tickets can be sold as well.

“If anyone wants to sell for us, call 610-235-6278,” he said.