After a summer of me jumping from business to business for 103 minutes at a time, and you chasing me down to qualify to win a new Jeep Wrangler Sahara, the new Jeep has a new home!
The Jeep draw is definitely THE highlight of the Rock the Lake weekend for me, but a close second is being on stage Friday night with Beach Mornings’ Ara & Toby, introducing Honeymoon Suite!!
4:30pm Sunday: Beach Radio VIP tent
81 qualifiers gathered outside the Beach Radio VIP tent in the pouring rain, huddling together, hoping to hear their names called to advance into the Final 10 Draw! The anticipation was so intense that the moment Prism ended their set, the cheers from our group of qualifiers and guests was as loud as the concert crowd!
Once Prism left the stage, it was our turn to perform. Ara & Toby whipped the qualifiers into a frenzy as I spun the drum with 81 names inside. The Final 10 were:
- Lyn
- Mark
- Raymond
- Darlene
- Elizabeth
- Ute
- Christie
- Gilbert
- Amanda
- Lisa W
When Ute’s name was drawn, I bumbled the pronunciation (I said Ooo-tah, instead of Ooo-tay). Normally, this wouldn’t be confusing, except Jutta (You-tah) thought I called her name! Jutta was fast and boisterous to the front as well, so it hurt me more to explain my mistake and have her return to the crowd, and then not pull her name later. I’m sorry Jutta!
But we had our Final 10!
8:00pm Sunday – Final 10
Our ten finalists climbed onto the elevated side stage, nervously waiting for Quiet Riot to wrap their set (which was Amazing, by the way; their new singer has the pipes!!). Ara and Toby took over, gathered everyone around, and proceeded with a reverse draw. Opposite to the previous draw these ten stood through, you do not want to hear your name called here. And it was tough to watch our Finalists realize they were no longer in the running to win the Jeep as their names were called and they left the stage:
10. Raymond
9. Lisa W
8. Amanda
7. Lyn
6. Christie
5. Mark
4. Ute
3. Darlene
When we got down to two, Elizabeth and Gilbert, the next name drawn wins the Jeep. I can only imagine how fast their hearts were beating! As they stood on the stage, arms locked, an amazing coincidence hit me: both contestants had entered multiple times throughout the summer, but each qualified for the Jeep on the FINAL DAY of the contest, August 8th!
Gilbert’s name was drawn at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in West Kelowna, and Elizabeth was our online entry qualifier!
He beat 1 in 110 odds to qualify; She beat nearly 1 in 1000 odds! And yet here they both were, hoping to hear their name called, and awarded a new Jeep.
The winner is Gilbert Jacques! His wife Denise was FaceTiming with their family the whole time, so when Gilbert’s legs stabilized to walk back down the stairs, a screenfull of happy faces met the new Jeep owner! What an amazing experience!
My heart goes out to Elizabeth, our other Finalists, all the qualifiers, and all of the friendly contest-goers who weren’t selected. I appreciated seeing everyone’s smiling faces every day. I wish things could have gone your way too!
People regularly told me this summer that if they won the Jeep, they would keep our Beach Radio decals on. I think that’s such a great testament to our music and brand. Though Gilbert knows that when he receives his Jeep it will be cleaned up and decals removed, he is already a great ambassador for this station, and I am so very happy he won!
