And after years of investment he had not won so much as a chook raffle.
But a phone call three weeks ago suddenly made all that commitment seem worthwhile.
“George Santos from Moama Bowling Club called me to say I had won the weekly prize in their travel voucher giveaway,” Rob said.
And what a prize.
A $10,000 travel voucher for use anywhere in the world — when we are allowed out of the country to use it.
His win certainly proved popular with his wife, Kath, and their three children; who have all come up with their own ideas about where and how the voucher could be best used.
“Me? I think we will need to get COVID out of the way before I start getting serious about how to spend my vouchers,” he said.
Vouchers?
Sorry, you mean voucher?
Oh, right. You forgot to tell us about the second phone call from George at the bowling club.
The phone call two weeks after the first one.
To say he had won another $10,000 travel voucher.
That’s $20,000 in two weeks.
“I got totally confused when George rang the second time; I thought there might have been something wrong with the first prize and we were talking cross purposes until it finally clicked with me that he was talking about a second prize,” Rob said with a laugh.
“So now the ideas were coming thick and fast about where and who would be helping me use them.
“The only thing I got wrong was I should have gone straight out and bought a Lotto ticket as well.”
Rob said he had been knocking around a few ideas of seeing things across Australia (even though he and Kath had done an extended motorhome tour of the whole country some years ago) — or maybe taking a cruise around the great southern land and doing it in style.
“Or maybe we’ll just let the travel agent toss us a couple of options and then think about it,” Rob said.
“Or maybe we could make it three wins and I could go in the running for the $75,000 caravan the club is also giving away — but that might be pushing it a bit for everyone.”
George said he could not remember anyone claiming two prizes this big in the same competition.
The Moama Bowling Club sales and marketing manager said when he got Rob’s name the second time around, he was probably as stunned as Rob was.
“It’s always a highlight to call people and tell them they have won a seriously good prize,” he said.
“But when you ring someone a second time in the space of two weeks with the same good news, well that becomes really special.
“This competition, the travel and the caravan we are giving away, has been designed to support local business as well our members and it’s going better than we hoped.”
Of course it is. Just ask Rob.
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