It was just a regular day for Michel Bellavance when he entered Hyundai’s National Win a Kona Contest, a contest to win a 2018 Hyundai Kona at the Timmins Hyundai dealership.

“I just went in to do a little bit of service work on my vehicle at the Timmins Hyundai dealership,” Bellavance said. “They were having a promotion for the new Kona’s. So they had pamphlets, you just had to go home, go online, fill in your information, and that was it.”

Like most people who enter a contest, Bellavance didn’t think more of his entry after he’d submitted his information. He was not expecting what happened next.

“To my surprise,” Bellavance said, “I had a call saying I was the unofficial winner until I filled out all the paper work. And then I was the official winner. So, it was pretty surreal. You don’t think that it’s going to happen to you, but it does.”

Bellavance says his win was frustrating at first because he had to keep it a secret.

“It was hard,” he said. “I had to keep all my joy and excitement all bundled in. But, I mean, as soon as they called me, it was great. It’s almost like you’re flying on cloud nine; you don’t expect anything like this. And when it happens, it’s a very good feeling.”

When asked if he ever thought he would win, Bellavance said he thoughts the odds were against him because the contest was all across Canada.

His family is excited too. Bellavance’s wife was almost as excited as he was, and he says lots of friends and family have reached out to congratulate him.

“Everyone else, they’re very very happy for us,” Bellavance said. “It’s just amazing. We’ve been getting a lot of congratulations and stuff like that. We’re feeling very blessed.”

Bellavance says he’s looking forward to driving his new 2018 Hyundai Kona around Timmins, and wherever else the road takes him.

“It’s just, wherever the road decides to bring you, it’s beautiful no matter where you’re heading.”

Michel Bellavance received his new 2018 Hyundai Kona on Monday, June 25th at Timmins Hyundai.