The most memorable moment or moments had to be my time as the Dream Home Lottery Coordinator for the Prince George Hospice Society. This was an opportunity for me to step up and do something big for the community as a whole and change lives in the process. After a four month house lottery where people were asked to part with $100 for a ticket and a chance to win various early bird prizes and the grand prize of a custom made home valued at over $400,000, it is safe to say that at least one person's life was significantly changed. The winner of the house was Charlene Floer who decided to leave her rental residence and take up residence in the house located in the Creekside Properties subdivision.
The interesting story in all of this was how the winner purchased the ticket from yours truly moments before I closed the house the night before the draw. She left work having only learned about the lottery a couple of weeks previously and being reminded that the draw was coming up the next day. After getting lost along the way and having to retrace her steps to find directions on the road leading to the house, Charlene arrived in a panic and asking if it was too late to get a ticket. She made the purchase and the decision to not even tour the house. Some twenty four hours later, it was her ticket that was drawn out of the barrel with a number of onlookers hoping to see and hear their name called.
The lottery changed my life too in many ways including the one that I find the most important - I got to meet a lot of new people and work with many that I would not have otherwise had the chance to. I learned a few things about myself, the Hospice Society and people in general. I have always considered myself a people person, but this lottery taught me that I have a long way to go. I can be conversational, relatable and personable when things are going well; the trouble for me comes when placed in a situation where things seem to be out of my control when I think they should be or feel they should be.
At the very beginning of the Lottery I was having difficulties dealing with how one person in particular was operating within the confines of the Lottery and its seemingly endless list of rules. This person was in a position of authority and I have an inherent difficulty with confronting authority - I'm a bit of a yes person and, as I have been told in a previous job, to such a degree that it can become a problem and a disadvantage instead of an asset. In this particular situation, I did decide to confront it and it was ugly! So ugly, that it carried a lingering problem where the two of us could not seemingly work together. At times it was such a distraction for me that I had difficulties getting tasks done because I was worried about what might or might not be happening with this other person.
In hindsight, this particular person did some great things for the Lottery and I feel now that a better dialogue of an ongoing nature could have done miracles for all of us. As it was, the first ever Dream Home Lottery did finish as a success raising over $200,000 for the PG Hospice Society and this despite it wasn't a sellout coming up some 700 tickets short. I so want to be able to this job again in 2012 and will be shooting for a complete sell out of the Lottery. Along the way, I want to change a few things from my end including the communication with people.
The Dream Home Lottery can be something huge in its second year and seeing how well the Spruce Kings are doing in their 30th Show Home Lottery leads me to believe that things can really take off. The Spruce Kings are over 6000 tickets sold heading into the New Year, just two and a half months into their lottery. People love the house itself and I see the number of early bird prizes as being one of those things that continue to roll the momentum of ticket sales. If there is a second Dream Home Lottery, I know the house and its design is basically out of my control but I certainly hope I get to add my thoughts and recommendations for prizes, draw dates and overall duration of the Lottery.
So it isn't a clear and concise resolution, but I know that I want to build on all the positive experiences I got from working with the Dream Home Lottery in 2011. I want to build on the strength of friendships that have been forged through the years. I want to see the Dream Home Lottery become an even bigger success. I want to improve how the community perceives me through community involvement and relationships built. I'm into my late 40's and on the doorstep of my 50's and still I have some maturing to do - that is where improved communication skills will have the biggest impact.
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