More Prize Patrol Stories

March 16, 2015
Day 320

The more I look back on my short time working at Publishers Clearing House, the more grateful I am for the unique experiences I had there.  Traveling around the country in the Prize Patrol van surprising people with money?  Man, that was so much fun!

I got to see places I might never have seen otherwise too, like Flint, Michigan, Duluth, Minnesota, and of course Fargo, North Dakota.

The prize checks we delivered on those trips to Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, and North Dakota were only between $1,000 and $10,000 each, but you better believe we gave each and every winner the FULL Publishers Clearing House surprise treatment!

Everyone got the big check, the flowers, the balloons, and the champagne, and to each one of them, I always had the real check ready to hand off, so they could go straight to the bank and cash it right away.

One winner from the Flint, Michigan area (pictured above left) wasn't home when we knocked on his door, but we heard from his neighbor that he owned a karaoke bar in Flint.  After a few minutes, we had the address and set off to surprise him.  Go around to the back door, we were told, because the place won't be open yet.  He'll be in the back taking care of business matters.

Picture the scene.  My coworker Jack is holding the big check, facing himself, and I've got a bunch of balloons in one hand and a video camera rolling in the other.  We knock on the heavy metal door and wait, but no one comes.  His wife pulls up, and we let her in on the surprise, but don't tell her yet how much.  She waits with us as we knock again, and then our winner finally answers the door. 

We make the presentation, the man and his wife celebrate, and then they invited us in for a drink on the house.  Well, we couldn't accept the liquor, as we still had to drive to our next award winner, but we happily accepted a soft drink and got to spend some time with them in the bar by ourselves. 

Another winner on the same trip (pictured above right) knew we were coming!  We always notify the local media a few days in advance, so they can meet us at the florist's shop nearest the winner (where we pick up the roses and fill up our balloons).  On this occasion, the local newspaper published a story about how someone in the relatively small town had one a prize.  When we got to her front door to surprise her, the woman came right out and told us she had a good feeling it would be her.  She was such a sweet woman too, and we were so happy to make her day!

All of the winners were tremendously grateful and tremendously generous with their time and spirit.  It truly was a wonderful experience having this job for the time I did, and it's certainly something I'll never, ever forget!