By Liz Nolan, Contributing Writer

Kevin Lynch and his family enjoyed a trip to St. Thomas in December thanks in part to winning the Dinner for Two Anywhere in the World raffle. (Photo/Rachael Lynch)
Northborough – If you could have dinner anywhere in the world, where would you go? Northborough resident Rachael Lynch and her family won the Dinner for Two Anywhere in the World Raffle sponsored by the Algonquin Regional High School Athletic Boosters Club and chose St. Thomas as their winning destination.
The Lynch family – Rachael, her husband Brendan, and her 17-year-old son and high school senior Kevin – headed to St. Thomas in December just before the holidays.
Rachael said it was a great way to end a challenging year. Within a short period of time, Kevin suffered from a sports-related concussion and a broken leg. Rachael had a knee replacement and was also treated for Stage 1 Melanoma.
“It was a tough year medically for us,” said Rachael. “The trip let us go, relax and enjoy each other and the sun and sand.”
Kevin will graduate from Algonquin in June and plans to study criminal justice in college next year. The timing for a family trip was great.
The Lynches are an international family and love to travel. They investigated their destinations carefully. They chose St. Thomas because they had visited St. John’s previously and loved the U.S. Virgin Islands.
They stayed at the Emerald Bay Resort for five nights and were able to attend the island’s Christmas parade where shops stayed open late and decorated boats were part of a parade on the water. In addition to taking a tour of the island, they tried helmet diving for the first time. The weight and design of a special helmet allows you to walk on the seafloor using a railing.
“The helmet supplies air so you breathe normally and you are able to walk on the bottom of the sea floor without having to have scuba gear,” explained Rachael.
The Lynches chose to have their special dinner at Oceana Restaurant and Wine Bar. The evening was a double celebration of Rachael and Brendan’s 30th wedding anniversary and the celebration of adopting Kevin 18 years ago
“It was fancy,” said Rachael. “Dinner was surf and turf, two types of lamb, and duck. Kevin had chocolate soufflé for the first time for dessert.”
Algonquin Athletic Boosters Club Treasurer Jim Forbush said that the raffle has only been held twice and tickets were sold throughout the school year at various town events, such as Applefest, and by student athletes to friends and family. One winner is selected and receives a trip anywhere in the world for two people including airfare, hotel accommodations for two nights with a maximum of $350 and dinner at their choice of restaurant at their destination with a $250 maximum. Raffle tickets were sold at $5 each.
The Boosters Club is not holding the raffle this year as they are gearing up for a golf tournament which will be held at Juniper Hill Golf Course Friday, June 24. Anyone interested in participating and supporting this year’s fundraiser can register at http://arhsboosters.weebly.com starting Friday, April 1.
The Algonquin Athletic Boosters Club was established approximately 10 years ago to provide financial and volunteer support to the ARHS Athletic Program. It’s a charitable, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to encourage support and interest in Algonquin’s athletics; to award scholarships, which contribute to the post-secondary education of graduating seniors; and to contribute to the advancement and needs of the athletic programs at Algonquin.
The money raised from all fundraisers helps the athletic department and programs.
“In the past 18 months, the club has assisted with the purchase of a new sound system for the high school gymnasium, a new pole vault pit for the track team, new solar panels for the baseball/softball scoreboards, and a new ice machine that is utilized by most of the school’s athletic teams,” said Forbush.