Raffle Winner: At First, I Didn't Believe Him

Former Madison resident Bruce Lovenberg was driving to a lacrosse game with his twin 14-year-old daughters over the weekend when he got a call from Borough Councilman Don Links telling him he won nearly $80,000.

Links, who works with Lovenberg at Logical Design Solutions in Florham Park, sold Lovenberg a $100 ticket for the Madison Athletic Foundation's 50/50 raffle to support the Madison Recreation Center.

After Lovenberg's ticket , Links called to tell him the news.

"I, at first, didn't believe him," Lovenberg said.

Back at work Monday at Logical Design Solutions' Florham Park office, his ticket was still tacked to a bulletin board at his desk.

"I had forgotten all about it," Lovenberg said. "We buy these tickets all the time."

Lovenberg, who is now a resident of the Long Valley section of Washington Township, is the company's CFO.

He previously lived on Seaman Street and Ardsleigh Drive in Madison and has known Links for about two decades.

Links said he knows Lovenberg and his wife well, and was happy Lovenberg won.

"I was thrilled that I sold the winning ticket," Links said. "I've known Bruce for 17 years and I'm very happy to see him win the money. I know Bruce's wife very well and I'm sure she will give Bruce advice as to how to spend it."

As past president of the Long Valley United Soccer Club, Lovenberg knows it can be challenging to raise money for sports intitiatives. So, he was sympathetic to the Madison fundraising effort and interested in seeing what athletic organizations in other towns could learn from the Madison Athletic Foundation's raffle.

Lovenberg said the prize money will be earmarked for the education of his three daughters.