Behind the Winning Moment: Mary Croll
Hi PCH Blog readers! This is Matt K. from PCH Creative. Back by popular demand are more winning moment stories! This time, we decided it might be fun to visit some of our past winners who didn’t win the big SuperPrize, but who still received a huge cash payout that would make anyone jump up and down! Here’s a look “behind the winning moment” with Publishers Clearing House winner Mary Croll…
We all have our “first thing of the day” routines. You know, that thing you have to do before you get on with the rest of your P.O.D. (plan of the day!). Mine is checking Twitter, and maybe yours is checking the weather outside!
One of the things Mary Croll made sure she did every day was turn her computer on and use PCH.com. Mary wasn’t sure if she was ever going to win anything (spoiler alert- she had her Publishers Clearing House winning moment this past October!) she just liked interacting with our emails and playing our super fun games. And who can blame her? I’ve shared with you often about how addicting our sites can be!
So when Dave Sayer came to her house on October 3rd, guess what Mary was in the middle of doing? Yup, you guessed it, she was filling out her daily entry that very moment! Her boyfriend answered the door and called her to come quick. Of course Mary had no idea what was going on, so she took her time, letting her dogs outside so they wouldn’t bark at her visitor. Watch her winning moment below!
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfzrTj4N_Hw[/tube]
When Dave Sayer handed her the check for $10,000.00 (which was later doubled to $20,000.00 due to her SuperFan status), she didn’t know what to say! All she could get out was, “now I can buy a new lawn mower!”
When I spoke with her on the phone recently, not too much had changed for Mary. Of course, one of the first things we established was, YES, she DID buy that lawnmower!
“The first thing I did was I went to the bank, deposited it all except for $1,000.00,” she explained. “I spent over $900.00 on groceries! I stocked the freezer, pantry, and splurged on stuff I wouldn’t normally buy!” Now for Mary, that’s food like nachos and cheese! Obviously she doesn’t indulge in “bad food” that often (I wish I was like her!), but when you win $20,000.00, sometimes you just have to go a little bit crazy! But she did also buy that lawnmower! (Hey, that grass isn’t going to cut itself!)
But Mary is also a giver, and that’s something she makes sure she does all the time. Every year she treats her family and friends to a huge, home cooked Christmas dinner, and she upgraded her kitchen equipment to make sure that this would be her best party yet. Also, every spring she participates in a fundraiser for children with Muscular Dystrophy, in which they collect scholarship money to pay the kids’ way to summer camp. It was amazing to hear about all the wonderful things Mary was able to do with her money.
Mary wasn’t sure she would ever win; she liked the Publishers Clearing House experience for the fun of it! Her friends all knew it was something she did, but they always poked fun at her. Now they all say they’re going to start playing! As for Mary, she says winning is an experience she’ll remember the rest of her life…and it is something she hopes will happen again!
Matt K.
PCH Creative
P.S. Where does PCH fall into your daily routine? Do you think you’ll ever win? Tell us in the comments below!
Other blogs you may like:
Forever Changed by PCH – Joseph Beane’s Winner Story
Forever Changed by PCH – Tari Woods’ Winner Story
