Final Draw Prize Winners’ Stories – 2021
Grand Prize #1 Winner – Joseph D.
Joseph, our 2021 Grand Prize winner, is a semi-retired veteran that loves playing the lottery and has been entering the TMC Mega Raffle every year. He loves the odds and that it’s for a good cause. He was in complete shock after receiving the call. “I won an electric cooler one year, but never imagined something like this.” Joseph is a proud Dad to four grown children, and he owns his own woodworking business. He said one of his sons was born at TMC and he had surgery there once and received great care. As the news of his winning the grand prize home or $625,000 was still sinking in, he wasn’t yet sure what he was going to with his winnings. “I might build a lap pool and get a new car or maybe I’ll take the house – I’m still in shock.”
Grand Prize #2 Winner – Michael & Keri Russo
Michael and Keri are first time winners and participants that always wanted to enter the TMC Mega Raffle but missed the deadline.. until this year. They purchased tickets just before this year’s early sell-out and they are very glad they did. The Russo’s are our 2021 Grand Prize #2 winners of the Audi E-Tron or $150,000 cash option. The couple has lived in Tucson since 1995 and they are both retired now. Michael is a car enthusiast, so he is especially excited to take the new Audi out for a test drive. “TMC is one of the best hospitals in the area, if not the best; so, we were just happy to be able to enter this year, but this is really wonderful,” Michael said.
50/50 Add-on Jackpot Winner – Debbie Russell
Debbie is a resident of Sierra Vista that started entering the TMC Mega Raffle three years ago and never won a prize – until now. She said she entered because she likes to support local causes and help when she can. This year she purchased one ticket and three entries to the 50/50 jackpot and for Debbie the third time’s the charm. Debbie is the 2021 winner of the 50/50 Jackpot which hit a record breaking $903,465 – she will receive half of the pot and TMC gets the other half. With the news still sinking in, she is considering treating herself to a new car and taking some people out to dinner to celebrate and then put her winnings in the bank.
2021 Acura TLX Tech plus $13,000 Cash – Travis Hammond
Travis is a student in the nursing program at University of Arizona. When his instructor, a nurse that works in the NICU at TMC, told the class about the Mega Raffle, Travis went online to check it out, and when he saw the 1 in 20 odds, he entered. He was hopeful that he’d win a prize but couldn’t believe it when he heard he won the 2021 Acura TLX Tech. Travis said, “I’m going to enter every year now!”
2021 Ford Ranger XLT plus $11,000 Cash – Rodney Smith
Rodney was admitted to TMC a few times this year and said he walked out better than when he arrived. As a thank you he decided to enter the Mega Raffle. As luck would have it, he and his wife needed a new car, and he is the winner of the 2021 Ford Ranger XLT. The Smiths are happy they didn’t act quickly and buy when they were at the dealership. They saw the TMC Mega Raffle poster, which prompted the couple to enter but they never expected to win one of the cars. Rodney explained, “It’s a good cause. TMC is a good hospital, and it did good things for me – especially during a time of COVID. I am incredibly grateful.”
2021 Toyota Venza LE plus $11,500 Cash – Patrick McCanna
2021 Toyota Rav-4 Hybrid plus $10,000 Cash – Nadine Lucas
2021 Camry SE plus $9,000 Cash – Tracy Jordan
