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Home lottery winner thinking of moving in

Retired music teacher Enid Best was in the process of downsizing.But that was before she became the latest dream home winner in Red Deer Regional Hospital Foundation’s 2013 Hospitals’ Lottery.
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Enid Best gives a two thumbs up as she and her friends Angie Strynadka and Diane Swainson toured though Best’s new home on Wednesday. Best

Retired music teacher Enid Best was in the process of downsizing.

But that was before she became the latest dream home winner in Red Deer Regional Hospital Foundation’s 2013 Hospitals’ Lottery.

“I just have to think about it because it’s an incredible house.

“It’s a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to live in something like that,” the 68-year-old, who lives in a condo in Red Deer, said Wednesday.

“I’m very overwhelmed and very grateful.”

Best won the grand prize in the 2013 Hospitals’ Lottery — a luxury four-bedroom home built by True-Line Homes at 201 Van Slyke Way in Vanier Woods East.

The 2,584-square-foot bungalow, worth $629,000, includes a media room with a 92-inch screen, covered deck, a master jet tub, a bar and a gas fireplace.

Best got the call that she won on Tuesday when the lottery gave away 560 prizes.

The long-time ticket buyer couldn’t believe her luck.

“I just buy the tickets. I don’t win. I never look at the houses.”

She got her first look at the place she’s thinking of calling home on Tuesday.

“It’s just stunningly beautiful. I think the craftsmanship is pretty amazing.”

The lottery sold all its 92,000 tickets by June 3, before the early bird deadline.

The final tally is not finished, but at least $600,000 has been raised.

The money will be used for equipment upgrades to the hospital’s outpatient department.

It will cut wait times for a number of procedures by standardizing equipment across its four procedure rooms and eight exam rooms for non-elective plastic surgery, urological and gynecological procedures, and more.

Some 30,000 Central Albertans made use of the department last year.

Last year the lottery raised $635,000 to purchase hospital equipment, the most ever raised in the its 14-year history.

szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com