GREENPORT, NY — One lucky Southold resident has won the 2024 Eastern Long Island Hospital Auxiliary Car/Cash Giveaway — and the chance to take home a 2024 Jeep Compass or $20,000 in cash.

ELIH Auxiliary President Helene V. Fall joined Paul J. Connor III, chief administrative officer of Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, and fellow Auxiliary member Lauretta Faria to announce the winner — Wendy Smith of Southold.

Smith, a radiology nurse at SBELIH since 1999, described the moment when she learned she’d won: “I was outside with a friend when they pulled the winning ticket and Helene announced it was someone from Southold. I thought, ‘I’m from Southold.’ A little while later I was in radiology with my co-workers — we were holding our phones hoping one would ring. Mine did. It was just amazing and so exciting. I buy Car/Cash Giveaway and Dream Green tickets every year for myself and my daughter. I called my daughter and told her right away. It’s not settled in yet.”

Following her big win, staff at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital wished Smith congratulations.

“It’s wonderful that someone here at the hospital won,” Connor said.

“The Annual ELIH Auxiliary Car/Cash Giveaway has raised over $458,000 for the hospital since 2006 when the hospital needed a piece of equipment and the ELIH Auxiliary jumped in to help,” Fall said. “The cars are purchased from Mullen Motors in Southold, and they have been wonderful partners from the beginning. M&T Bank in Greenport is our partner for the third year, giving a grant of $5,000 to offset the cost of printing the tickets and sending the mailings. They are both great community partners.”