WHAT are the odds of one ticket bought in a Harley-Davidson art union drawn on your birthday, and your name being called out?
For Guillaume Vanthournout, the odds were one in 18,664, as that is how many tickets were sold.
Receiving a phone call from a mob of burly motorcyclists singing “Happy Birthday” was not how he imagined spending his 31st birthday.
He won the Wayne Leonard’s Motorcycle Muster art union – on his birthday.
“I bought the ticket in July when I saw that it was being drawn on my birthday and then when I got the phone call, I just could not believe it,” Mr Vanthournout said.
Originally from France, he has worked in the mining industry in New Caledonia for the past five years and is currently travelling around Australia.
He plans to keep the bike for his travels around Australia, that he started just a month ago.
“When I saw it in the shopping centre – I realised it was drawn on my birthday and that the money was going to a good cause,” he said.
He only bought one ticket while the art union was at Cairns Central shopping centre.
This year’s Wayne Leonard’s Motorcycle Muster raised more than $61, 077, with funds going towards theatre equipment at Cairns Hospital.
The event is in its 16th year and has raised more than $700, 000 in that time.
Hosted by the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation in conjunction with Wayne and Rhonda Leonard, the fundraising event this year travelled to Mission Beach.
Foundation CEO Tony Franz said riders and volunteers did a tremendous job raising so much money for the hospital.
“We all hope it won’t be us, but it’s a fact of life that we might some day need this equipment so it’s reassuring to know that we are helping to provide the latest technology and equipment for our medical and nursing staff,” Mr Franz said.
PHOTO: Wayne and Rhonda Leonard with Guillaume Vanthournout and Foundation CEO Tony Franz.
