By Quint Qualls and Spring Hill Home Page
After 14 years of participating in the drawing, a long-time Spring Hill resident won the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway.
Dean Schatz and his wife, Susan, who have lived in the same home in Spring Hill since about 1990, have bought a ticket for the annual St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital giveaway each year for about 14 years now. The fact that he was named the 2016 winner of the Nashville Dream Home is still beyond comprehension for him, he said.
“We actually found out through Richey, our son,” Schatz said. “He and all the fire fighters were watching it on TV, and I was actually, I believe, in the garden when they called Sunday evening. And it was just unbelievable. I thought that Richey was joking, pulling a fast one – we do that with each other sometimes. And then he asked me if we bought a ticket.”
“We donate every year, and it’s just unbelievable. It’s still beyond comprehension. It’s life changing. We’re just common people that try to live a good life and help people. And for this to come around like that, it’s just beyond comprehension.”
The home is located in the Highlands at Ladd Park in Franklin and is valued at $525,000. Each year in various cities across the nation, contestants purchase tickets for $100 apiece and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital gives away a home valued at $300,000 to $600,000 to one lucky winner. The giveaway is the largest single fundraiser for the hospital.
Schatz said he and his wife are still reeling from the news, and are now in the process of figuring out the legal and financial logistics of making the move into their new home.
“We were very happy living our quiet life here in Spring Hill,” Schatz said. “We’re just very lucky that we have the kids we have and the breaks we’ve had in life. We’re very thankful for it, and now this just puts icing on the cake. Like I said, it’s going to be life-changing decisions we have to make. As positive as this is, I can’t look at it any other way – it’s just a good thing.”
Having donated for the giveaway each year for more than a decade, Schatz said he will continue to support St. Jude.
“This is a cause where the CEOs don’t get 90 percent – it all goes to the children,” he said. “It’s a wonderful organization. When it comes to kids, it hits the soft spot for us. My wife did all the paper work and wrote the check, and she is beside herself right now. I’m just so happy I have my family, my wife and my kids. I’m just so blessed.”
Quint Qualls covers Spring Hill for Home Page Media Group. Reach him at [email protected].
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