Rick Pedersen thought his family was playing a joke on him at the Christmas table.
After pulling open his YANA Christmas Cracker, he found a little piece of paper saying he won a diamond ring. The dinner table erupted in cheers and went crazy but Rick was skeptical.
Rick travelled up to the Comox Valley from Victoria to have dinner with his daughter Lisa Skene and family.
“Even after I got out the writeup about the crackers and read it to him, my dad still thought we were joking. It wasn’t until he called his sister from the Valley before it truly started to sink in,” reflects Lisa.
The family was quick to spread the word with friends and family and Lisa’s daughters were regretting their choice of seating at the dinner table. But the ring has since been delivered to a very excited Rick in Victoria.
There are questions about who will end up with the ring, but Rick and his wife are about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary next month. There has been speculation in the family about this being a wonderful occasion to celebrate with a diamond ring.
“The ring is very pretty and it would be wonderful if the ring stays in the family and is passed down as the Christmas Cracker ring,” hopes Lisa.
Lisa Skene and her husband Craig own Coastal Transportation Systems. CTS has been a great supporter of YANA for many years.
“It is so exciting that such wonderful YANA supporters won the ring,” says Lesley Hunter, YANA board member and Christmas Cracker co-ordinator.
Once again, Mark Dalziel donated the grand prize. This year, Mark chose a beautiful diamond ring valued at $3,100 with the appraisal donated by Tim Haley.
YANA thanks all of the wonderful volunteers for building the crackers, the local businesses for selling them and the community for buying them all once again.
Each of the 5,000 crackers were filled with goodies and sold for $2.50. The crackers are an annual fun and festive fundraiser for YANA (You Are Not Alone) with funds being raised to support families who need to travel outside the community for medical treatment for a child under 19 or for a pregnant mother.
— YANA Comox Valley