The Red Deer Hospital Lottery recently handed over the keys of the $874,895 dream home to Debbie Greiner of Stettler.
Greiner was away from her phone when the the call came in.
“I had a bank appointment and I thought that I would leave my phone in the car,” she said. “When I left the bank, I went to the mail box and then when I got back in the car my phone was ringing.
“I answered it and that is when Cynthia (Cynthia de Boer, event manager of the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation) gave me the news.”
Greiner quickly drove home to inform her husband Miles Greiner of the big news.
“He didn’t really want to believe me,” Debbie said of her husband’s reaction.
Greiner, who accepted the keys to the house alongside much of her extended family, said they intend to sell the house so that they can remain in Stettler where she is still working at the Stettler Health Centre as a housekeeper.
“I am not going to quit work yet,” she said.
Miles, who works in the oil patch and on the family farm, did say they do intend to slow down a bit after working hard for years and that selling an $800,000 house will go a long ways towards that.
“We are going to Hawaii for a month,” he added. “We were thinking about it anyway, I am going to help with the charity next year.”
The whole Greiner family added that they are grateful for the Hospital Lottery and everyone who donates and supports it.
This year, the lottery increased its sales up to 83 per cent sold and the Mega Bucks 50 raffle, which Jeannette Richard of Red Deer won $250,000 in, was completely sold out.
Overall the lottery raised $550,000 which is going towards 39 new high-tech patient beds that increase patient comfort and reduce the risk of caregiver injury.
The other big winner of the day was Marge Proehl of Red Deer who took home a $54,000 2018 Ford F150 4 x 4.
Plans are already underway for next year’s lottery.
