When in doubt, answer the phone: GBN 2002 grad wins Northbrook Days raffle

Scott Abramson was packing for a business trip to New York on Sunday night when he got a call from an unfamiliar number.

“I'm like, I don't have time to pick this up, but I did,” he said.

It was much better news than hearing that his auto warranty was about to expire.

On the other end was Steve Amberg, a Northbrook Civic Foundation board member and co-chair with Jody Kenzer of the Northbrook Days Grand Prize Committee.

Scott had just won the $10,000 Grand Prize Raffle.

“I was unbelievably surprised,” Abramson said. “It made waking up the first thing this morning that much easier.”

A Northbrook native who played four years of soccer and was involved with television broadcasting at Glenbrook North, Class of 2002, it was Abramson's fourth time entering the raffle since he and his wife, Brittany moved back to Northbrook after a decade in Chicago.

He plans to donate some of the money back to the Civic Foundation, donate more elsewhere and probably take his wife “on a nice little trip somewhere.”

Abramson, whose job is in-store advertising, attended the opening of Northbrook Days on Aug. 4 at the Metra commuter lot, 1401 Shermer Road, and helped close it out Aug. 8. He's got two young children, one big enough and old enough to go on some rides.

“I thought what they did this year was much better than when it was at Northbrook Court, but obviously it still doesn't compare to when it was downtown at Village Green,” he said. “But I think it was still a good second-best, and I enjoyed taking my family there.”

It's too early to get all the facts and figures from 2021 Northbrook Days, but festival chairman Matt Settler thought the 97th event went great.

“We had a great turnout. Children and adults seemed to like the layout and what we had to offer. We had long lines for tickets and wristbands,” Settler said.

“Weather is always a factor, but we made the best of it. We really appreciate the support of all the patrons.”