It's a contest you may not want to admit you've won.
But Greater Sudbury's Joanne and Jean-Marc Roy say they're ecstatic to be named the owners of Sudbury's Ugliest Driveway contest.
The contest was held by Fisher Wavy Inc. in partnership with Pioneer Construction, Mark Elliott Associates.
Fixing the couple's driveway won't simply be cosmetic. Jean-Marc Roy was injured in a mining accident five years ago and a new driveway for him will mean greater mobility and independence.
His wife, Joanne, says their current driveway at their home in Chelmsford is in bad shape.
"Actually, my friends think it's a roller coaster," she said.
"There's great big holes. You know how the streets of Sudbury look like? Potholes. Yeah, I've got potholes in my driveway.
'Really difficult'
That doesn't help when trying to get Roy's specially-equipped van out of the driveway, which scrapes along bad bumps. Joanne says that makes it hard for her husband to get into his van or even to the sidewalk. She says that can make him sometimes housebound in the winter.
"He gets really depressed," she said.
"It's been difficult. It's been really difficult for us."
Joanne says WSIB has helped make the inside of the house accessible and provided him with a scooter, wheelchair and a walker. But when she requested help to fix the driveway, that was turned down.
Earlier this year, Fisher Wavey Inc. launched a contest looking for the ugliest driveway in the city. The grand prize is a $25,000 makeover to redo a driveway.
According to the company, more than 300 videos were submitted for consideration. However, the sales manager at the company says the Roy's entry stood out.
"Knowing that this contest will have changed someone's life for the better makes it all the more worthwhile," Andy Wallgren said.
Work to start in coming weeks
Joanne says both she and Jean Marc are excited they won.
"It's not as if we won $10 million, we won a driveway," she said.
"But you know what, just that itself is worth more to me than anything."
The company says the work is expected to start in the coming weeks, with the hope of unveiling the project by the Canada Day long weekend.
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