THUNDER BAY -- Cole Maki could have a fun summer of camping ahead of him.
Maki on Friday was named the grand-prize winner of St. John Ambulance’s sold-out Spring into Summer draw, and takes home a 32-foot Jayco Jay Flight travel trailer from Smith’s RV Centre.
Diana Sustawenko, executive director of the organization’s Thunder Bay chapter, said they sold 8,000 tickets for the annual draw, which also included secondary prizes of a pair of kayaks donated by Wilderness Supply, won by Patricia Kozak, and a trip for two to any WestJet destination, won by Joe Elliott.
“The community services that we provide here at St. John’s so depend on the money we raise in this draw,” Sustawenko said.
“If it was not for the help of the community and making this draw a success, we would not be able to offer the programs that we do here.”
Maki and the other prize winners had yet to be notified of their good fortune when this story was written.
“He’s going to be very excited when he finds out,” she said. “He wasn’t here today unfortunately, but we’ll be calling him very shortly.”
Programs supported by the draw include the medical first response team, the school programs that teach Grade 3 and 6 students beginner first aid, a youth group and a therapy-dog program at long-term care homes and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
It also supports the ladies’ auxiliary and the car-seat inspection program, the only one of its kind in Thunder Bay.
“The majority of them are all free of charge to the community.”
