Above: Schulte Subaru Sales Associate Ethan Sachen, raffle winner Dan Hodny and CHS Director of Events and Volunteer Management Erica Krohn stand in front of Dan’s new car.
In the small town of Thief River Falls, MN, lives retired UPS driver and farmer Dan Hodny and his wife, Randy. One evening, Dan was sitting at home watching TV when a commercial came on for a chance to win a new 2023 Subaru Solterra Limited. He didn’t catch who the raffle was for, but he made a mental note to remember it the next time he saw the commercial. A few days later he saw the ad again, but forgot to write down the information. The third time was definitely the charm for Dan because when he saw the commercial again, he wrote down CHS.
Dan went immediately to our website’s Caring For The Kids (CFTK) page and found information on how to buy a raffle ticket. As Dan was filling out his information to buy a single ticket, he said that he “knew he was going to be the winner.”
Fast forward to August 4, and the annual CFTK Celebration in Sioux Falls. Guests could participate in a live auction, silent auction, wish wall and the car raffle was held that night.
Our good friends at Schulte Subaru—who donated the car—drew the lucky winner’s name and called their phone number. Suspense was in the air as the phone rang, and Dan Hodny answered with a cheery, “Hello!”
Schulte Subaru told Dan that he was the winner of the brand new 2023 Subaru, and Dan couldn’t have been more excited! He had wanted to buy an electric car—and the fact that it was a Subaru was the cherry on top.
After he hung up the phone, Dan decided it was time to tell his wife what had happened. He found Randy out back in their garden. “Honey, you’re never going to believe this. I just won an electric car!”
Randy was a little taken aback, not knowing that Dan had bought a raffle ticket. She said, “What scam did you fall for?” After she did some research on Children’s Home Society and realized that CHS was a real organization, she was very excited for her husband.
The couple made the seven-hour journey to Sioux Falls last month where they signed the paperwork with Erica Krohn, Director of Events and Volunteer Management, and picked up the car from Schulte Subaru.
After 32 years of driving semi-trucks, Dan was excited to have a vehicle that could park itself. Becoming a new owner of an electric Subaru Solterra Limited was his dream come true.
We are so excited to share with everyone that this year’s events raised $464,163.87. Kudos to everyone who was involved in making this year’s celebration a tremendous success!