Every day since receiving a December phone call, Pungo, Va. resident Dora Scott recalls what she describes as “an awesome feeling.” 

The office administrator at Smile with Style in Virginia Beach recently won a nationwide raffle. The $150,000 prize that arrived at her office Feb. 26: an original chopper custom-built by renowned designer Paul Teutul Jr., who rose to fame on the reality show American Chopper and now oversees a business empire of custom bikes, clothing and other gear.

“When I saw the caller ID was Pennsylvania, my heart about jumped out of my chest. I knew immediately what I had won… I was over-the-top excited,” said Scott, one of 2,000 people to purchase a raffle ticket from Benco Dental, a dental distribution company with headquarters in Pa.

A raffle for the bike launched April 10, 2013, at an event in Costa Mesa, CA.  The limited ticket sale net proceeds will benefit Smiles for Success, a 501c3 foundation of the American Association of Women Dentists, which helps provide women with cost-free dental care.

“I had read about the project and having been in dentistry almost 30 years, loved the entire concept of the Lucy Hobbs Project,” said Scott, who purchased the $25 ticket through her Benco Dental Representative Patty Landry.

“I bought the ticket and said a little prayer in hopes that I would win and for some reason I actually felt like it could happen.”

National dental distributor Benco Dental commissioned the motorcycle, created by Teutul Jr., at his headquarters in Rock Tavern, N.Y., as the first give-back initiative for the company’s Lucy Hobbs Project. Named for the woman who, in 1866, became the first American female to earn a degree in dentistry, the project works to create an inclusive, encouraging environment nationwide in which women of all backgrounds can connect with one another.

Benco Dental will host The Lucy Hobbs Project Annual Celebration at the Omni Championsgate in Orlando, Fla., on June 6, 2014,  where they will honor women from across the country who are setting new benchmarks in the dental profession and beyond. An opportunity to network and learn will be available at this free event: new to this year’s agenda are two complimentary CE courses tailored to the female dentist.  During the celebration, Smiles For Success will be presented with a $10,000 check as a culmination of the Lucy Hobbs Project give-back raffle.

While the Benco Dental sales force spread the word cross country about the raffle, the Lucy Hobbs -themed chopper followed the same path; with guest appearances everywhere from the American Dental Association (ADA) Annual Session in New Orleans; the Pocono IndyCar 500 in Long Pond, PA;  the Greater NY Dental Meeting (where Dora Scott was selected as raffle winner Dec. 4, 2013) and at bike nights hosted at locations of the national restaurant chain Quaker Steak & LubeTM .

“As a company, we can relate to Lucy Hobbs – the idea of overcoming adversity and spurring innovation. She had a lot to overcome: They wouldn’t let her go to dental school and she persevered,” said Teutel Jr.

He describes his work.

“I built the frame to be a pro street-style bike, which creates more of a long, low look,” he added. “You can really see the design in the wheels (20-inch on the back and 26-inch on the front); it gives the whole bike a dramatic, shapely look.”

The Paul Jr. design, a sleek, creation of gleaming chrome,  arrived in style at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 26 to Scott at Smile with Style, 1244 Perimeter Parkway, Suite 444, in Virginia Beach.

And the consolation prizes are nothing less than noteworthy: 2nd prize – a Tiffany bracelet awarded to Dr. Jon Simmons of Jesup, Ga.; 3rd prize – a $1,000 shopping spree awarded to Dr. Ernani Pagliarini of Exeter, Pa.; and 4th prize – a $500 spa day awarded to Dr. Dave Magusiak of Griffin, Ga.

“My husband and I watch the Paul Jr. design show and have always thought the bikes were incredible, never knowing I could one day own one,” said Scott. “My three older brothers ride motorcycles and are so jealous but … I think they will have to be happy just getting their pictures taken on it,” she added.