Prize Patrol Makes And Keeps Friends Across The USA!
People often ask me if we do follow-up check-ups on the folks who win big cash prizes in the PCH Sweepstakes. I’m a bit surprised by questions like this — because such an activity seems so impersonal. After all, unique friendships between the Prize Patrol and our winners start with “the Big Check winning moment” and often last for years and years – with phone calls, cards, emails, sometimes even face-to-face reunions.
In fact, I just was talking with Larry Brown who won last August’s $1 Million SuperPrize. He and his wife “could not be happier” he says. It didn’t take them long to move from their little house near St. Louis to a beautiful new home in sunny Florida – not too far from that happy place called the Magic Kingdom.
I get Christmas cards from winners with news of their families and maybe a photo or two to keep us up-to-date on their blessings. Kids whom we first saw as toddlers when the Prize Patrol delivered the Big Check are now in college or are parents of toddlers of their own!
I sometimes hear from past winners who know that the real Publishers Clearing House wants to stamp out those fraudulent scam operators who pretend to be from PCH and call or mail innocent consumers with requests for money or a fee to win a prize. Our winners know – first-hand — that you don’t have to pay a penny to enter or win any prize in the PCH Sweepstakes – which has been run with utmost integrity for 45 years!
Life goes on, year after year, and unfortunately sometimes I receive sad news. I just learned from John Cotter, winner of a $1 Million SuperPrize back in 1990, that his beloved wife Barbara passed away. Barbara was the star of a classic “winning moment” that was featured in our TV advertising campaigns many times. When the Prize Patrol rang the bell at the Cotter’s Texas home, Barbara – who was nursing the flu in bed — came to the door with little grandson Christian who was dressed in a little Batman shirt. She just about fainted when she saw us with roses, balloons, champagne and a Big Check that declared John a “$1 Million PCH Sweepstakes SuperPrize Winner.” (Now, fully grown and a prize-winning singer, grandson Chris is pursuing an operatic career in New York). John and I have stayed in touch several times a year, and he is grateful for the blessing the prize has been for him and his family. Publishers Clearing House extends heartfelt condolences to the Cotter family on the loss of this lovely woman.
In friendship,
Prize Patrol Ambassador
