Appreciation Winners’ Stories – 2019

A few of our Appreciation winners had exciting stories to share about plans for their winnings and their connection to TMC. Congratulations to all!

Lorena Sonke – Winner of $50,000

Lorena lives in El Frida, Arizona near Douglas and Bisbee and commutes to TMC where she has worked as a pediatric nurse for the past eight years. She said, “ I purchased tickets to the TMC Mega Raffle because it’s a good cause, but I never won a prize.” This year she was shocked when she learned she was the winner of the $50,000 cash prize in the Appreciation draw. She said it couldn’t have come at a better time. The mother of seven with her husband are looking at using their winnings to help their three youngest sons, now in high school, pay for college.

 

Dan Ranieri – Winner of $25,000

This year’s winner of the $25,000 cash prize, Dan said he always participates in the TMC Mega Raffle. “There is no better raffle, it is so well run, the prizes and odds are great and it’s an easy way to give back.” Dan, a longtime resident of Tucson, also works in the healthcare industry and loves that you know where the money is going.  With his winnings he plans to make a donation back to TMC, buy some more raffle tickets for his wife and daughter and fix up a few things at home.

 

Amanda Poer – Winner of $10,000

Amanda, a Tucson resident and clinical nurse that works in Emergency at TMC, purchased a ticket for the first time, after hearing her co-workers talking about the Mega Raffle. She thought the prizes looked amazing and either way it was a win. It was a big win for this first-time participant who won $10,000 in the Appreciation draw! Amanda grew up in Sierra Vista and graduated from the U of A nursing program in 2014. She always wanted to work at a community hospital and was thrilled to be offered a position when she graduated. Earlier this year Amanda purchased her first home and said she hopes to use her winnings to redo her backyard.

 

Janice Graham – Winner of $5,000

Janice, 72 and her husband Gary never expected they would be winners of a $5000 cash prize in the Appreciation draw this year. The couple are retired and live in the rural area of Turkey Creek Canyon on the land her grandparents homesteaded in the late 1800s. Janice grew up in Wilcox and remembers going to TMC as a child when her father was there as a patient.  “It was in the middle of nowhere then.  We’ve really seen TMC grow up.”  Over the years she and her husband and many family members have received care at TMC. Janice is also retired from her work in neonatal care for Good Samaritan hospital in Phoenix. They purchased tickets the past couple of years because they saw an ad on TV and thought TMC was a special place.