STARS Lottery launches with Lethbridge dream home

You can see photos of the Broc James toward the bottom of this article.

It was built and donated by Van Arbor Homes, and co-owner Val Lowen says they wanted to return to a traditional home that had a traditional kitchen at its heart.

“The features of the Broc James are the kitchen/dining area, as well as the master bedroom and en suite with a lounge in the master bedroom… it features very warm, traditional types of finishes,” says Lowen.

Each year, Lowen and her husband, Mike, name their dream homes after one of STARS’ VIPs, or Very Important Patients.

They dedicated the first dream home in 2018 to their daughter, Jenna Michelle, after her passing. Ever since, they have been named after children who have been served by STARS.

She says this year is “kind of” the exception, as, while Broc James Higginson is an adult, he is a Leap Year baby, and therefore, has only had 11 birthdays.

On June 24, 2020, Higginson was getting ready for work as the principal of École Agnes Davidson school when he began feeling unwell.

He had a seizure and passed out on the bathroom floor at their house in Lethbridge. His family, including his wife, Stephanie Mills, was at their cabin in B.C. at the time.

Thankfully, a staff member at the school noted Higginson’s propensity for being early and phoned Mills to see if everything was OK.

EMS was contacted, and he was initially taken to Chinook Regional Hospital and later airlifted to Foothills Hospital in Calgary by STARS.

It turns out Higginson had two brain tumours.

After spending several weeks in the hospital, one of the tumours was successfully removed, while surgeons were unable to get the other one out. He has since undergone 33 rounds of radiation and six rounds of chemotherapy.

Mills explained that it has left her husband with speech and memory issues, and Higginson joked, “Husbands, I get to blame my memory issues on that, and sometimes, I try to push it that I can’t hear too well out of my left ear.”

At the end of the day, Mills says she is eternally grateful to STARS for saving her husband’s life.

“If it wasn’t for STARS, my husband wouldn’t be here today,” says Mills.

She continued, “The other day, we were out for a walk and saw the red [STARS] helicopter in the sky. Even five-and-a-half years later, we stopped and we thanked God for the access that Broc had to STARS.”

There was strong support for the agency at the STARS Lottery launch event, with dozens of people packing the dream home.

Jeri-Lynn Johnston, Vice President of the STARS Foundation, says she greatly appreciates the public’s enthusiastic support.

“The Lottery is our largest annual fundraiser. Across the three provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba), we do receive provincial support from our governments – close to half of our needs each and every year – and we fundraise the remaining,” says Johnston. “Built by the community and for the community, and we really rely on the support.”

Johnston explains that, since 1985, STARS has carried out over 63,000 missions from its six bases in the three provinces, or about 10 every day.

Each of the six bases costs about $12.2 million annually, with expenses ranging from facilities to equipment, staffing, and more.

The dream homes are open for viewing from January 10 to March 15, 2026, on weekends from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In addition to the dream homes, the STARS Lottery will give away three vehicles, three vacation packages, and a range of cash prizes.

You can see the full list of prizes and purchase tickets at STARSLottery.ca. Tickets can also be bought over the phone at 1-855-782-7768.

Stephanie Mills speaks about her experience with STARS Air Ambulance saving the life of her husband, Broc Higginson. (Image Credit: Lethbridge News Now)

The Broc James dream home in Lethbridge. (Image Credit: Lethbridge News Now)

by David Opinko

STARS Lottery launches with Lethbridge dream home

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