By Chris Tataryn Journal/Brandon

Marc Dufault has been coping with a brain tumour, having to drive back and forth between his Minnedosa home and Winnipeg doctor offices for some time. Their family vehicle has been on its last legs, making strange noises and feeling unsafe, so they have been forced to borrow their in-law’s car for the last few months. Now, thanks to the Precision Toyota “Who Deserves a New Toyota?” contest, the Dufaults have a new set of wheels, a 2009 Corolla CE and $500 worth of gas from Mohawk. “This really makes things a lot easier on us all,” said Marc. “Once my treatments start I will have to be in Winnipeg five days a week, this really is an amazing gift for our family.” Marc has had to take a break for his two jobs because of the tumour, making money tight for the family, but they still didn’t want a hand-out, and didn’t enter the contest themselves. The contest required entrants to submit a video, showing reasons why they would be the most deserving of a new car and $500 in gas from Mohawk. The Dufaults didn’t think to enter, but thankfully sister-in-law Taryn Tuttle took care of that for them. “I wanted to do it without Marc or Chrisy finding out,” said Tuttle, who spent three days learning how to put together a video for the contest. “I didn’t want to get their hopes up, and wanted to make it a surprise, but Chrisy found out over facebook. I was visiting them that day and I heard the music in the video coming from her phone, and I ran to grab it, trying to stop her. It was too late, she had already seen enough, and I had to explain it to her. Thankfully they won, so no one had their hopes let down.” The entry video can be found on youtube, titled “Precision Toyota Care Giveaway Entry.” The video opens with a shot of Marc and Chrisy on their wedding day, with text that reads, “Meet my sister in law Chrisy. This is her husband Marc. December 23, 2011, Chrisy woke up to her husband seizuring beside her. She immediately called 911. After a long night in the hospital, and one CAT scan later, they found out he had a brain tumour. December 25th, 2011, Christmas Day, he was in Winnipeg getting a four-hour brain surgery. My niece and nephew four-year-old Faith and six-year-old Colby were left to spend Christmas without mom and dad. Our family tried to make it the best it could be...Hardest Christmas ever.” The contest worked on public voting, before going before a panel of three judges, two from Precision Toyota and one from Mohawk. The video Taryn submitted received 8,206 votes, the most by a landslide. “This contest was something we wanted to do to give back to the community, specifically someone who truly deserved it,” said Scott Ball, General Sales Manager at Precision Toyota. “It was great to be able to really make a difference for a family that is going through tough times. The public agreed with us that they really deserved it.” Precision Toyota was running the contest from December 28 until Valentine’s Day, and according to Scott Ball, it was very successful and something they will definitely consider again next year.