UNITY - Lady luck smiled on Unity in November. Within a one-week time frame, the community learned there was another $100,000 lottery winner from town.
Nov. 19, the Roughrider & Children's Hospital Foundations Lottery Facebook page announced three $100,000 Early Bird winners, one of them being Rhonda Brandle from Unity.
This comes exactly seven days after Sandy and Deryl Richards were awarded $100,000 from the Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation lottery in North Battleford on Nov. 12.
Rhonda Brandle tells the Press-Herald/SASKTODAY.ca, “When I got the call late Thursday night, I didn’t think it was real. My heart was thumping, and I felt like I was in shock. When I hung up the phone, my husband asked what it was about, and I told him the news and that I wouldn’t believe it until I saw it posted somewhere.”
Brandle said she texted her kids Friday morning to share the news and they too were almost in disbelief. Her youngest daughter then saw the post on Facebook and texted it to her stating, “This is real.”
“I have been a longtime supporter of lotteries like the Roughriders, the hospitals and Kinsmen. I don’t buy them expecting to win but rather as a way to support the causes I believe in and I especially think the hospitals are a good cause.”
Brandle says the reality has started to sink in and she will attend the official presentation the first week of December.
Brandle and her husband Dwayne have three children, two with spouses and one who is set to be married in January. They also enjoy their six grandchildren.
Chucking, she adds, “I feel like I’ve received thousands of texts and calls congratulating me, with a million different opinions on how I should spend the winnings.”
Brandle says there are no specific plans for the winnings just yet and she will likely pay some bills and life will go on.
The Roughrider & Children’s Hospital Foundations Lottery supports programs that help youth throughout the province in three main pillars: education, including lunch programs; health, especially mental health initiatives; and amateur football, including scholarships, football mini camps and investment in female sport. Additionally, the lottery supports the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital of Saskatoon, allowing families the medical care they need right here in Saskatchewan.
Brandle's win came exactly seven days after Sandy and Deryl Richards were awarded $100,000 from the Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation lottery in North Battleford.
