And the prize goes to…
The 50/50 guy is 100 percent PBA
n BY JOSHUA SIGMUND
If you’ve ever been to a PBA meeting,
fundraiser or convention, there’s a 100-percent
r
chance you’ve been pitched to participate in the
Valo
AWARDS
event’s 50/50 raffle. And there’s a 100-percent
chance that man holding out the roll of tickets
is none other than the 2015 State PBA Executive
Board Member of the Year, Union County Police
Local 73 State Delegate Manuel Corte.
But if the only thing you know about Manne is that he is “the
50/50 guy,” you’re missing more than 50 percent of the story.
“When I first got involved as a State Delegate 15 years ago, I was a
new guy,” recalls Corte. “The guy before me was Keith Dunn. At my
second meeting, he asked if I could ‘help him out’ and take over (the
50/50). He just needed a hand, he said. I just continued to help him
as he moved up to become State PBA Executive Vice-President, and
then it fell to me and that’s how it went. It’s just a coincidence that I
was there that day, and 15 years later, I’ve done it at every meeting
since.”
Running some rough numbers, at 11 state meetings a year, three
rounds at each Mini Convention, four-to-five rounds at each Main
Convention and sometimes at fundraising dinners… “You do the
math,” Corte implores. (It’s about three hundred 50/50s, give or take
a beefsteak.)
As for how much money that has raised for the State PBA’s various
charitable endeavors, most notably the Survivor & Welfare Fund…
“I thought about that once,” he contemplates. “At each Main Convention, if you consider both ends – the state’s cut and the prizes –
we do close to $8,000; at the Mini Conventions it’s probably about
$5,000. So with everything, I would estimate about $25,000 per year,
mostly in $10 bills.” (That’s about $375,000 since he took the 50/50
reigns.)
At this point, Manne is 100-percent certain how to handle his
duties, which include 50 percent running the fundraiser, and 50 percent being a top State Delegate for his members.
“I got it down to a science over the years,” Corte emphasizes. “I cut
the tickets so they’re prepared, and also I have to pay attention at the
meeting to get the info to my members, so it’s a juggling act.” Manne
then reveals an expert trade secret: “I used to wait until the meeting
was over (to do the 50/50), but now I listen (to participants) with one
ear and pay attention (to the meeting) with the other.”
Even though Corte is more often referred to by “Hey, you’re the
50/50 guy” than by his name, “Manne” – as he’s cordially referred to
in the inner Executive Board circle – serves as one of the administration’s top go-to guys for virtually anything State President Pat
Colligan and Executive Vice-President Marc Kovar need. That’s
about 50 percent of why the 7th Vice-President was selected as the
2015 Executive Board Member of the Year.
“Pat wrote me a really nice letter saying I’d been chosen. I’m not a
big spotlight guy but (standing up at the Valor Awards and receiving
the award) was OK,” Corte enthusiastically recalls. “I’m not the
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER
OF THE YEAR
MANUEL CORTE
UNION COUNTY POLICE LOCAL 73
36
NEW JERSEY COPS
n
DECEMBER 2015