$100,000 Cash Lottery

Kenneth Smuk of Yorkton was presented with a cheque for $100,000 on July 2, the Grand Prize in The Health Foundation’s $100,000 Cash Lottery. Ticket sales concluded June 21, and the draw was conducted June 27 in the offices of ParkerQuine Chartered Accountants.

Jim Rediger and Lorne Kopelchuk of The Health Foundation board presented the cheque for $100,000 to Mr. Smuk (photo at right), and also the cheques for $1,000 to the other ten winners of the final draw (photo below). A total of $125,000 has been awarded in the $100,000 Cash Lottery.

When Mr. Smuk was notified he had won $100,000 in the lottery, there was a dead silence on the phone line at first, and finally we had to say, “This isn’t a joke,” said Ross Fisher. “It took a moment or two before Mr. Smuk believed he had won.”

When asked what he would do with the money Mr. Smuk said, “I’m a farmer, there’s no shortage of ways to use the money.”

“It’s a pretty wonderful feeling to present a cheque to someone and watch their face light up,” said Mr. Kopelchuk. “The only feeling that will be better than this, will be buying the cardiac equipment we need for the regional health centre; we know that equipment will save lives. This lottery is a big part of our fundraising efforts at The Health Foundation, and helping to buy equipment like that is a great reward for all the work our committee does,” he continued.

“This is our fourth year holding a lottery, and we are pleased to see the growth and strong support from around the health region. We sold 95% of the 2,500 tickets available, which is a good increase from last year. We thought we would sell-out this year, and ended up only 119 tickets short. Ticket sales have increased every year, so we should sell-out next year,” said Jim Rediger.

“All Credit Unions with branches in the Sunrise Health Region participated in the lottery by selling tickets in their branches, and Credit Unions ended up selling 13.4% of tickets,” said Mr. Rediger. “We wanted to make it as convenient as possible for people to buy tickets, and having tickets for sale locally in 35 communities in our region ensured everyone a good opportunity to buy tickets.”

“Credit Unions have always been supportive of local communities and healthcare in particular. This is the kind of project we are willing to assist with because everyone who lives in our communities will benefit from improved local healthcare,” said Mr. Rediger, CEO of Crossroads Credit Union.

Second place winners who all won $1,000 in the final draw are:

• Carol and Rudy Tangedal of Saltcoats
• Theodore Hopefuls represented by Valerie Michel of Buchanan
• Rita Diakow of Yorkton
• Perry J. Bellegarde of Regina,
• Irene Christopherson of Springside
• Charlotte Siddons of Preeceville
• Stan and Dan Kupchinski of Buchanan
• Joe and Cheryl Bisschop of Yorkton
• Sonia Frampton of Norquay
• Donald Gallagher Jr. of Meadow Lake

“Lottery tickets were purchased from all over Sunrise Health Region, and it is nice to see that the winners come from all over the health region”, pointed out Mr. Kopelchuk.

The Early Birds get the cash

Bill and Velma Putland of Churchbridge received a cheque for $5,000 for the first place prize in the Early Bird draw of The Health Foundation’s $100,000 Cash Lottery held June 6. Tickets may be purchased for the $100,000 grand prize until June 21.

Jim Rediger and Lorne Kopelchuk of The Health Foundation board and lottery committee presented the cheque to the winners of the Early Bird draw.

“This is the third year for The Health Foundation’s $100,000 Cash Lottery, and tickets are selling better this year than ever before; already over 82% of the 2,500 tickets are sold,” said Mr. Kopelchuk. “The lottery will sell-out this year, so if people want a ticket they had better not wait”, he continued.

“Everyone knows that the monies raised by the lottery are going to help buy the cardiac equipment we need in the Yorkton Regional Health Centre, including an echocardiogram machine, so that might be helping ticket sales” said Jim Rediger. “Cardiovascular disease is responsible for about one-third of all deaths in east central Saskatchewan, and this equipment would significantly improve our ability to diagnose and monitor heart conditions.”

The $1,000 winners of the Early Bird and Previous Purchaser draws are:
•  Barbara Shukin of Yorkton
•  Laure Leis of Runnymede
•  Stephen and Olga Shumay of Yorkton
•  Wanda and Peter Kolenick of Saskatoon
•  Army & Navy Group #10 of Yorkton
•  Garry and Joyce Bassingwaite of Saltcoats
•  Glen and Veronica Erhardt of Yorkton
•  Lorne Szafron of Wapella
•  Lawrence Kreiser of Grayson
•  Garry Desrosiers of Lumsden


Early Bird winners at the cheque presentations June 6.