On New Year’s Eve life changed for one Red Deerian as he was named this year's winner of the Red Deer Kinsmen's Dream Home Lottery.  

59-year-old, Patrick Wasson, said at first he thought someone was playing a prank on him but quickly realized this wasn't the case.

“My mother lives with me from Saskatchewan and she went to the door and these six people are standing out there with a pizza box. They said we have a pizza here for Patrick, so she locked them out,” Wasson laughed. “She went and got me and everyone was just standing there but I let them in.”

Wasson explained that he plans on keeping the home valued around $700,000 rather than his other option of taking $500,000 dollars cash.

2016 Dream Home Chair, Craig Smallwood, said the support from the community was great and they were able to raise around $300,000 which will go to supporting local charities.

“$57,000 will go to the food bank which they’re greatly in need of and that will be great to help out there. It should be another $57,000 to Habitat for Humanity and over the next few months the Kinsmen will have our meetings and divvy it up.”  

Smallwood added in the past they've helped to support youth sports and says the entire event shows the community spirit of the city.

In total around 13,000 tickets were sold and Wasson said he will continue to buy tickets in the future because the money raised helps out the local charities a lot.