‘I thought I was going to pass out!’ Student wins new vehicle raffled at game
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REXBURG — A high school senior walked away in shock and gratitude after she won a new car this weekend.
A 2021 Toyota Camry was raffled off Saturday at the Rocky Mountain Rumble, the first home football game of the season at the Bobcat Stadium at Madison High School.
Sadie Archibald, 17, a Madison High cheerleader, won the vehicle.
“The funny thing is —- my stepmom was sitting next to me and she turns to me and she’s like, ‘Sadie, watch, they are going to call your name.’ I was like, ‘There is no way!’ With my luck, there is no way that anything like that could ever happen to me,” Sadie recalls. “But when they read my name, I jumped up and my parents were screaming. I thought I was going to pass out! That was the coolest thing that has ever happened to me!”
The car raffle has been a year of anticipation. Stone’s Toyota in Rexburg partnered with the Madison School District and donated the Camry to the school district last year so students could raise money.
Students sold raffle tickets for $10 each at sports games and events. Proceeds from the raffle have gone directly to students to pay for trips, sports fees and other school-related activities.
RELATED: New car to be raffled during high school football game after students raise over $103,000
Sadie works three jobs and recently bought a 1996 Honda Accord with money she earned.
“The timing of it was perfect. I am beyond grateful because the car I am driving right now is a pretty old car. It barely runs. My AC barely just stopped working so I had to drive home sweating my butt off because it only blew heat. It was horrible!” she explained. “Even with the car I have now, I was happy to drive it just because it ran pretty decent but now that I have this new car, it’s the coolest thing ever.”
On Monday, Sadie went to Stone’s Toyota to pick up her new vehicle.
“I am very, very, very grateful that I don’t have to worry about my car breaking down in the middle of the road because that has happened to me a couple of times,” she said.
Sadie said with the help of her stepmom and father, they collectively bought 109 raffle tickets to enter the car raffle.
Superintendent Randy Lords said it couldn’t have gone to someone more deserving. He said people bought raffle tickets from all over like Lewiston and Utah. He said from the raffle this year, students were able to raise $108,000.
“I am so grateful the community jumped in and enjoyed the raffle and supported us,” said Lords.
Stone’s Toyota General Manager Jason Grover said the company is honored to be partnered with the school district.
“Of course, we know, in this day and age, money is tight in a lot of places. So if we can do a little something and return that to the community that has supported us as well as they have, we think it’s a great deal for us to be involved in and it probably couldn’t have gone to a better candidate than who it went to,” Grover said.
Grover told EastIdahoNews.com the next vehicle has already been announced for the car raffle that will happen again next year at the Rocky Mountain Rumble. Stone’s is donating a 2022 Jeep Compass to the Madison School District.
The school district began selling raffle tickets Monday. Anyone interested in purchasing a raffle ticket can do so at Madison High School’s finance desk or at Stone’s Toyota or Stone’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Rexburg. They take cash or card. At events for the district, students take cash or Venmo. The raffle tickets are $10 each.
