The nail-biting wait is over, and at last all can be revealed…
The wheels on the £37,000 Press and Journal minibus will be taking it to Moray.
The Hopeman Community is the proud new owner of the vehicle donated by North Sea firm Nexen Petroleum.
Residents in the picturesque coastal village were among 210 groups who signed-up to give themselves a chance of winning our fantastic prize.
When they threw their hats into the ring, community leader Carmen Gillies said the 17-seater Ford Transit was something local people had long wanted – and that it would be used to bring young and old together.
She said villagers had been delighted when the competition was launched and that having their own minibus would open up a wealth of opportunities.
At the time, she said: “We are all about the community as a whole, we want to bring groups representing the oldest and youngest people in Hopeman together.
“Over time, as they share the bus, we hope to see our youngsters mixing with our over-60s groups.
“There’s already a terrific local spirit in the village and we think this would only enhance that.”
Those hopes and dreams have now become a reality for scores of local organisations who supported the bid, including scouts, guides, bowling, golf, church, school and dance groups.
Hopeman, supported by the nearby Moray communities of Duffus and Spynie, handed over 4,000 of the total 170,000 tokens collected from all over the Press and Journal’s circulation area.
Press and Journal editor Damian Bates picked them out from more than 3,400 entry forms for the much sought-after bus.
He said last night: “The response we had to the competition was absolutely fantastic, and we’d like to thank everyone who entered and Nexen for their incredibly generous sponsorship.
“We would have loved to have been able to give a minibus to every group who entered because they are all doing such fantastic work in their communities all over the north and north-east.
“In the end, there could only be one winner, and we hope the people of Hopeman will be able to use the minibus to build on the terrific community spirit they already have.
“But we do have other things in the pipeline, so the message is – watch this space.”