'Fortune favours the bold,' quipped one ancient writer, and while boldness was perhaps not an intrinsic part of one family's recent success, Fortune arguably delivered them a mighty favour.
Dwayne Oshowy and his family can consider themselves a little richer following their win in the Saskatchewan cadet movement annual raffle.
Every year, the cadets throughout Saskatchewan sell tickets for a raffle which features a new car, or a cash buy-out if the winner in question doesn't want the car.
Oshowy, with three children part of Squadron 723, the Moose Mountain Air Cadets, had done what he did for the two years previous, and bought a book of tickets for $15.
"It was never really about winning," Oshowy said of his ticket buying. "It was about supporting the cadets."
While it might not have been about winning, Oshowy nonetheless managed to score big when he was drawn as the winner of the new car.
"We were at the AGM [Annual General Meeting] for the Saskatchewan cadets in Regina," Oshowy said. "My wife Christine and I had gone there to represent Squadron 723."
"Every year, they announce the winner of the raffle at the meeting," Oshowy said. "This year when they got to the part where they make the announcement, they said that, for the first time in history, the winners were there at the AGM."
"I was listening, but not really listening, so when they called my name, I guess it didn't really register at first," Oshowy said. "They called it again, and after that I stood up."
"I was just in shock. I didn't really know what to do."
Oshowy had won his choice between a 2010 Chevy Cobalt, or an opt-out payment of $15,000.
"We had just bought a new car about two months ago, so we decided on the opt-out," Oshowy said. "The money will end up coming in handy."
Oshowy, who has been working on his family's home for some time, said he plans on using the money to buy some materials to further his work on the house.
"I do all the work on the house myself," Oshowy said. "So I guess some of the money will be going into more material so we can finish off some of the projects we're doing."
"Other than that, I think the rest will get spread around as we need it," Oshowy said. "We don't really have any big plans for a single thing."
Describing his ticket purchase as 'a great investment,' Oshowy is nevertheless happy to help with the cadets.
"All of our kids are in the cadet movement, and my wife and I help out quite a bit," Oshowy said. "Like I said, buying the tickets was never about winning anything. I never win anything anyways I always thought."
"But now that I've won, I don't think I could be happier."
As was stated previously, never before had the car raffle been won by someone who was in attendance at the annual cadets meeting.
While the winner was announced at the meeting, the formal presentation of the cheque took place at the Moose Mountain Air Cadets, Squadron 723 meeting at Carlyle Elementary School on the evening of Monday, Nov. 8.
