Patricia Hansen likes the number nine.

She was married on the 29th, and for whatever reason that number has always brought her good luck.

So when her boss, local realtor Steve Roland, said that he had fundraising tickets for the annual Not Forgotten Memorial Day event, she peeked through the stack and looked for the one that had her favorite number somewhere in it.

There it was. Number 109.

And the prize? A brand new Ford Fiesta provided by Phil Waterford’s Manteca Ford Mercury.

Even though Hansen would describe herself as lucky person, she said that purchasing the ticket was more out of support for the event than an actual attempt to win the car.

Naturally, the number nine came through.

“I had just come home when I found out about it,” said the RE/MAX Executive realtor. “It really wasn’t anything that I had thought about. Steve (Roland) said that he had some tickets that he needed to sell at our Tuesday morning (meeting) so I bought one.

“It’s kind of surreal.”

Hansen said that she’ll likely take the cash value of the car – after taxes – and donate at least a portion of it to a local scholarship fund. She considered gifting the car to a young relative that just got their driver’s license, but figured that sporting a brand new ride was a little bit too extravagant.

The cars, which Waterford provides for the raffle, have served as a major fundraiser for the event that draws upwards of 100,000 people to Woodward Park every Memorial Day weekend to pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

The other winners, the Gold Star family of fallen soldier Joseph Graves, also opted to take the value of the car. They plan on using the money to further their efforts through the foundation that they set up in honor of their son, who died in an ambush outside of the Bagdad Green Zone in July of 2006.

Hansen said that the process, while somewhat shocking and overwhelming, was also enlightening – showing her the generosity of people in the community and how far they’re willing to go to help others.

“I’m just so impressed with Mr. Phil Waterford and everything that he does for the people of Manteca,” she said. “It’s been fun. I love a good raffle, and this was definitely a good raffle.”