James Grogan was the luckiest man in town Sept. 30.

Sitting with wife Carol at the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce’s reverse raffle, Grogan sipped a glass of sweet tea and enjoyed the show, listening for his name to be called throughout the evening.

As the clock neared 8:30 p.m., however, Grogan was the lone ticket holder at his table still in the contest.

Within moments, he was on stage as one of three finalists. Five minutes later, he had won the $10,000 grand prize.

“I’m in shock. I’m totally stunned,” Grogan said laughing and hugging his wife.

Grogan, who sits on the chamber board as a representative for the city of Dawsonville, said he was building a new house and the winnings came at the perfect time.

“But first we’re going to celebrate and do something fun,” Carol Grogan interjected as she wiped tears from her eyes.

James Grogan bought his ticket from Linda Williams, president of the chamber, about three weeks ago.

He was later recruited to help sell tickets for the fundraiser, which supports local business initiatives throughout the year.

“I asked her why she sold me a ticket if I was going to have to sell some tickets,” he said. “I could have just bought my ticket from the ones I had to sell. I’m glad I did.”

Williams said more than 230 tickets were sold “for the very important fundraiser.”

“We came so close to our goal of 250 tickets that we are considering this a huge success,” she said.