Stephanie Falvey is $14,000 richer and West Potomac has enough money to pay for their All-Night Graduation Party. The winning ticket was picked this past weekend at Belle View Shopping Center, the culmination of a successful raffle spearheaded by Jim Coakley, Carole Kuhn, Tom Swinson, Warren Olsen and Diane Milanowski.
Coakley said that they sold about 1,200 tickets, which yielded them more than $7,000 in profits.
"It covers just about everything we need," said Coakley. "This was our first time and we didn't know if we'd get a big pot or a little pot. Next year, if we start earlier we should be able to make $12,000."
THE DRAWING WAS scheduled for Saturday at noon and a large crowd gathered in front of The Virginia Florist, where owner Kevin Green had been selling the raffle tickets in the store the past few weeks. Last-minute sales were fast and furious. Committee members and helpers sold tickets to supporters and passing shoppers who were lured by the sight of the Mazda 3 Hatchback from Brown's Alexandria Mazda on display in the parking lot.
Larenzo Gonzalez, who works at the neighboring Safeway, picked the winning ticket. Coakley announced that the winner was Stephanie Falvey.
Falvey is a second-grade teacher at Stratford Landing and opted to take the cash prize instead of the car. Falvey said that she has been buying raffle tickets for the past four years to Mary Washington College, where her daughter currently goes to school. It was the West Potomac raffle, however, that proved to be the lucky one for her.
"I was very excited. I don't have anybody at West Potomac, but I bought two tickets; one was the lucky one. I knew it was a good cause and we plan to donate a gift to the graduation party," Falvey said.