RED DEER -- A Red Deer couple will collect more than $560,000 as the winner of last Saturday’s Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation (EOCF) online 50/50 draw.
Colleen Degenhardt and her husband Tim have never won any sort of draw before, so they were both in disbelief when they found out Colleen had the winning numbers.
“I kept looking at the numbers, and I couldn’t believe it,” Colleen said.
“I took it over to Tim, and I think he thought I was joking.”
Both of them are lifelong Edmonton Oilers fans who have consistently supported the Edmonton Oilers 50/50 raffle.
“We like to support things that are being funded by these raffles, but we never thought in a hundred years that we would win,” Tim said.
The pair won $556,460 in Saturday's drawing.
Tim and Colleen are planning to share some of the prize money with their daughters who they said couldn’t contain their excitement when they heard the news.
“Our one daughter who lives with us was dancing around the kitchen table,” Colleen said.
“Our other two daughters who live up in Edmonton were doing backflips I think.”
Tim is retired and Colleen works part-time. They plan to put some of the grand prize money towards retirement and are also considering purchasing a boat.
“Hopefully, we can get through retirement with a little bit of extra cash and do a few other things in life,” Tim said.
Outside their family, they have had numerous friends, old and new, reaching out to congratulate them.
“Just amazing all the friends and acquaintances posting to give you congratulations, and it’s really heartwarming that they’re just so happy for us,” Tim said.
They hope they can put the money to good use.
“It’s given to us and let’s make sure we use it right. Help people out. Help our kids out. Whatever we can do,” Tim said.
Colleen and Tim are planning to print out their winning ticket and framing it. They both said they will continue to support the EOCF online 50/50.
