On a sunny Friday in February, Chris Cookenmaster looked up to see his first plane landing on the runway at Walker County Airport. Chris was the winner of Wings of Hope’s fall 2016 airplane raffle. He found out about the raffle on Facebook, and says a friend told him not to waste his money — he would never win. Good for Chris, he ignored his friend’s advice and bought three tickets for $125. Still, he was shocked when he received the call from Wings of Hope telling him he had won. “I’ve never won anything,” he said. “Who wins an airplane?” Chris has been flying for about three years and recently got his pilot’s license. This is his first plane. “It is a great plane, and it has all been redone — new paint, new interior, the motor overhauled and everything.” Wings of Hope’s fall 2016 raffle sold 4,000 tickets in less than 12 hours, raising more than $170,000.
