One Lacombe area local will be taking a vacation thanks to a recent lottery windfall.
John Beach was the most recent monthly holiday jackpot winner in the Alberta Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Calendar Lottery.
Beach said he didn’t expect to win and never even bothered checking winning ticket numbers on the lottery’s social media sites.
“I had forgotten all about it,” said Beach.
Winners of the lottery are typically notifi ed via phone or mail.
However, after Beach’s name was drawn for the Victoria Day Holiday Jackpot of $12,000, Beach fi rst learned of his good fortune when a friend from Medicine Hat called to congratulate him on winning the money. “I didn’t believe (my friend) so I had to check it out,” said Beach.
Once learning that his friend’s phone call was no prank, Beach starting thinking of where to take his vacation. He said he will be taking his family to Disneyland using his winnings. Beach said he doesn’t often give to charities because he does not enjoy being pestered for money.
In the case of the Heart and Stroke Calendar Lottery however, Beach said the price was right. He bought a three-pack of the calendars, gave one to his children, one to his wife and kept a third for himself. He said it was actually his wife’s calendar that had the winning ticket.
In the future, Beach will most likely continue to support the Heart & Stroke Foundation by buying tickets for the calendar lottery as long as the price stays reasonable, Beach said.
He added that he likes the idea of a cash calendar lottery over some other fundraising lotteries because there is more you can do with cash prizes.
Alberta Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Calendar Lottery announces one winner of $3,000 each day as part of the lottery.
In addition to the daily $3,000 winner, there is also a $10,000 weekly winner each Friday, a $20,000 monthly winner the last day of each month and a $12,000 monthly Holiday Jackpot winner on a different holiday each month.
Funds raised by the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s calendar lottery go towards such initiatives as funding stroke research and helping to promote heart-healthy lifestyles.