Winning Ways

Local News

Related Photos

June 18, 2008

Eubank woman wins $10,000 prize in DIY Network contest

By CHRIS HARRIS, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Wed Jun 18, 2008, 08:50 PM EDT

Sherry Tucker wants to replace some of the appliances in her home. Thanks to the DIY Network, she has plenty of money to do it with.

Tucker, a resident of Eubank, won $10,000 worth of gift cards from the Home Depot chain of hardware and home improvement stores in an on-line contest sponsored by DIY, short for “do it yourself.”

“I never dreamed that I would win,” said Tucker. “It means a lot to me.”

A television channel founded in 1999, DIY is associated with the highly popular HGTV (Home and Garden Television) and provides programming associated with domestic repair and decoration. The contest was associated with the show, “Sweat Equity,” which provides information about how to increase the value of your home in a Reality TV entertainment format.

Tucker is a fan of DIY’s programming, which is how she found out about the contest. “I love all the fixer-upper shows,” she said. “The helpful hints, ways to do things, how you can save money but make your house’s value go up. It’s interesting.”

It was on the network’s Web site, www.diynetwork.com, that Tucker entered her personal information for a chance to win something in the “Sweat Equity Challenge Sweepstakes.” Additionally, Tucker answered a question about information on a recent “Sweat Equity” episode, though she said that wasn’t required to win the prize.

There were 42 daily winners — that is, one a day for a month and a half — who would each win a Home Depot card valued at $1,000. Five weekly winners would get the $10,000 card, and one grand prize winner would recieve a $100,000 cash prize.

Tucker wasn’t the big winner — but she’s more than happy with the weekly sweepstakes card.

“I had just entered (the contest) and looked at the list of daily winners,” said Tucker. “I scrolled down see if anyone from Kentucky won, and at the very bottom I spotted ‘Eubank, Ky.’ I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, someone from Eubank won!’

“Once I saw my name, I just sat there with my cup of coffee and looked at it (the screen),” she added. “I couldn’t speak for a little while. It was a really neat way to find out.”

Tucker came up big in the June 2 drawing — the last of the weekly opportunities. Tucker recalled wondering aloud to her husband, Johnnie, how they would be notified, as there hadn’t been a phone call or any other direct notification of the good news.

That’s when Johnnie remembered — a FedEx package had just arrived that day. Indeed, it contained one pricey gift card, courtesy of the DIY Network.

It came at a good time for the Tuckers. Sherry Tucker said their home, now almost two decades old, needs new appliances, as the old ones that they used when they first moved in are getting a little bit worse for the wear.

“They’re having to slowly be replaced,” said Tucker. “It’s tough replacing all that stuff as it wears out, so this is going to help a lot.”

Tucker specifically mentioned a new refrigerator and stove as items high on her wish list.

While the gift card might seem like a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of good luck, this sort of thing is actually old hat to Tucker. She won a 57-inch-screen television in a contest sponsored by the General Cigar Company two years ago. She’s also a frequent participant in local radio and television contests – the sort of thing where the 100th caller wins — and has claimed a number of prizes that way. She won her first such giveaway nearly 25 years ago at the age of 21 — and now that her daughter, Brittany, is around the same age, Tucker jokes that maybe she can pass her lucky ways on down to the next generation.

Even being in the immediate vicinity of Tucker produces good fortune. Tucker recalled one time when she was in a contest to see whose key worked in a car’s ignition — the lucky winner got the sweet ride. Tucker didn’t take home the prize this time, but the woman only three people in line behind her did.

“I was tickled for her,” said Tucker. “Somebody has to win.”

Is there a secret strategy to Tucker’s sweepstakes success? It’s simple math, as it turns out.

“The odds are only against you,” she notes, “if you don’t enter.”

Text Only

Local News

Visitors rave about beauty of Lake Cumberland in May
May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Mopar Mania to highlight Cruise
May 25, 2012 1 Photo
‘Dry’ forces concerned about wet signs
May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Pulaski’s Memorial Day weekend to be packed
May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Locally-born Rotary leader Pigman dies at 78
May 24, 2012
Technology summit gets underway
May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Local Democrats diss Obama
May 23, 2012
Floyd edges incumbent in city council run-off
May 23, 2012
Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

May 22, 2012 1 Photo
Pine Knot man leads law enforcement on chase
May 22, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Related Photos

Winning Ways

Eubank woman wins $10,000 prize in DIY Network contest

Site Map