Marcia Snyder of Carl’s Appliance won a brand-new Jeep Wrangler at the BrandSource Convention in Nashville.
By Andy Kriege, YSN
It’s a good thing Marcia Snyder was paying attention when the numbers were drawn in last week’s Together We Rise charity raffle at the BrandSource Convention.
Had Marcia not been listening closely, she and her husband Carl, owners of Carl’s Appliance in Grand Blanc, Mich., might have missed out on winning a brand-new Jeep Wrangler.
You see, when the numbers were being called, Carl was helping Michigan Region Manager and fellow dealer Brad Cole sort through a big stack of potential winning tickets and was paying no mind to his own. In fact, he was so pre-occupied that he did not even notice when his wife bounded to the stage as one of 10 finalists for the giveaway. By the time he looked up, she was already standing in the line holding what would later turn out to be the winning key fob.
Marcia was concerned that if she waited on Carl to figure it out, another number would be drawn and they might lose their chance to win. She was not feeling particularly lucky though, having participated in more than a few of the various Convention contests and collecting only a few trinkets for her efforts.
Little did she know, her luck was about to change in a big way.
Marcia was the sixth person in the lineup and had the one live key remote that lit up the Jeep and sent the large crowd into an uproar.
“I was blown away by winning,” recalled Marcia. “Just supporting the charity was rewarding enough for us; winning the Jeep was unreal.”
Added Carl, “From now on, our lucky number is going to be six!”
The couple received a voucher for the prize, which they can exchange at their local Jeep dealer, who is coincidentally located across the street from their store. But with availability tight on what is currently a very popular model, it may be a while before they are able to take one home. Nevertheless, when Carl finally sees the cool midnight blue version the couple has their eyes on, he is going to run straight over and lay claim to it.
The Jeep will come in especially handy for the Michiganders. “Everything I drive has four-wheel drive because of the snow we get,” he told YSN. “But Marcia drives a Chevy Volt, which is not much good in the snow. From now on she plans on four-wheeling in the winter.”
The raffle was held as a fundraiser for BrandSource charity partner Together We Rise (TWR) and its Family Fellowship initiative for college-bound youth in foster care. The program provides tuition assistance, housing, career and life skills support for deserving students across the country.
BrandSource members and vendors helped TWR exceed its Convention goal of raising $150,000. Vendors showed their support by pitching in for the Grand Prize Jeep (one of two given away at the show), while members received raffle tickets for qualifying orders placed at the Convention’s Stampede event, and for $50 purchases of TWR apparel at the Together We Rise booth.
Besides the Grand Prize Jeep, two other lucky raffle winners — Jeff Mastin of Peoples Appliance in Waterloo, Iowa, and Trevor Haasch of Schroeder’s Appliance Center in Brainer, Minn. — received two round trip tickets to anywhere that JetBlue flies.
Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to all who sponsored and donated to this worthy cause.
BrandSource, a unit of YSN publisher AVB Inc., is a nationwide buying group for independent appliance, furniture, mattress and CE dealers.
