Hospital employee wins more than $88,000 in SAHF draw

Brain Lawson of Sault Ste. Marie won over $88,000 in the Sault Area Hospital Foundation October draw. Lawson works in the Transformation and Partnerships Department at Sault Area Hospital (SAH). The full text of the release follows:

On October 28th, Brian Lawson of Sault Ste. Marie, ON won an $88,220 jackpot in the Sault Area Hospital Foundation (SAHF) October 50/50 draw. His lucky number (OC-5666501) was drawn electronically, and he was contacted immediately.

Brian works in the Transformation and Partnerships Department at Sault Area Hospital (SAH). The Transformation team at SAH works to identify and facilitate process changes that will lead to improvements in patient care and efficiencies for staff. SAH employees, like Brian, are great supporters of SAHF and the 50/50 because they can see the difference community support makes, every day.

“Until I worked at SAH I don’t think I realized how totally dependent the hospital is on equipment being funded by the Foundation,” said Brian. “The people who work here are incredibly skilled and passionate about patient care, but they couldn’t do their jobs without what the Foundation provides.”

Brian bought his tickets in person at Sault Area Hospital at the beginning of the month from Roger Moreau – one of SAHF’s dedicated volunteer ticket sellers.

Brian has some practical plans for his winnings. “My partner, Amy, and I have kind of overextended ourselves doing some home renovations over the last couple of years, so this stroke of luck came at a great time.” He continued on, joking, “Mostly I’m excited that we should be able to send both of our kids to university instead of having to pick our favourite or making them flip a coin.”

Brian was one of 9 winners this month! Congratulations are also in order for early bird prize winners:

On October 12, $1,000 each to: Julie Ozawagosh (OC-8331924) of Naughton, ON; Muhammad Ghouri (OC-5173779) of Sault Ste. Marie, ON;  Lorraine Frappier (OC-2176735) of Sault Ste. Marie, ON;  Margaret Barban (OC-7999427) of Sault Ste. Marie, ON; and Louise Campbell (OC-8575521) of Richards Landing, ON.

On October 19, $2,500 each to: Nancy Peterson (OC-2673956) of Sault Ste. Marie, ON; and Tasha Pilon (OC-5179388) of Sault Ste. Marie, ON.

On October 26, $5,000 to Eileen Irvine (OC-7714315) of Sault Ste. Marie, ON.

Tickets for SAHF’s November 50/50 draw are on sale now, with this draw marking the 3rd anniversary of the monthly draws.

“It’s hard to believe we’ve been running SAHF 50/50 for 3 years now,” said Teresa Martone, Executive Director for Sault Area Hospital Foundation. “Since November of 2019 when we first started this lottery, these draws have raised almost $3.75 million for critically needed equipment at Sault Area Hospital. We are so grateful to the many community members who faithfully support SAHF 50/50, and look forward to continuing to raise important dollars to support care at our local hospital.”

In addition to online sales at www.soolottery.ca, tickets can be purchased in person at the Sault Area Hospital Foundation Office (750 Great Northern Road) from 8:00am-4:30pm, Tuesday through Thursday.

Tickets are 10 for $10; 60 for $20; 200 for $40; or 750 for $75. Ticket buyers must be 18 years of age or older and in the province of Ontario to play.