The winner of the 2021 Shop St. Joseph program picked up her lucky ticket while Christmas shopping for her grandkids.
Brigitte Selecman, 61, who lives in St. Joseph near Agency, Mo., works at Wheel’s Market Pharmacy. She has two kids and four grandchildren.
“Every year I get my grandkids gift certificates to the mall,” she said. “It’s so much easier and it’s fun for them to go shopping and pick out their own presents.”
When asked why she buys East Hills gift certificates instead of from an online retailer she said convenience was a big factor.
“Mall gift certificates are local,” she said. “You don’t have to wait for them to get here and hope they come in time.”
Selecman doesn’t know yet what she’ll do with her winnings, but a couple of ideas were running through her head, including a get together with her siblings. No matter how she spends the money, one thing is for certain: this will be a Christmas she never forgets.
“I’ve never won anything this big before!” she said.
This is the 15th year of the Shop St. Joseph program, which encourages shopping local during the holiday season. About 2.3 million tickets were distributed this year from 115 participating merchants.
“The Chamber is proud to have encouraged shopping local for 15 years,” said Natalie Redmond, Senior Vice President of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. “Giving away a $10,000 prize always feels good, but the real prize is knowing how many holiday shopping dollars we helped keep in St. Joseph, versus in another city or online.”
The check was presented at the East Hills Shopping Center Customer Service Desk, with Lindsey Davis, general manager and representatives of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce.