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Jane Whitmore of Spotsylvania County has a big smile--and |
Jane Whitmore's life changed with a pop--specifically, with the 20-ounce bottle of Diet Dr Pepper she opened one Friday in July.
Whitmore wasn't trying to win anything when she bought the soda from her office vending machine at the FBI Academy on Quantico Marine Corps Base.
But a contest promoting this summer's "X-Men" movie sequel directed soda-buyers to look under the cap, and she did.
Instead of the likely "Please try again," she saw a most unlikely "Winner $100,000."
Healthy skepticism told Whitmore, 50, that she hadn't really won a hundred grand--probably, she thought, she was eligible to enter a drawing to win the big prize.
But a co-worker dialed the number on the side of the bottle, and soon Whitmore was directed to photocopy her bottle cap, then send the original via certified mail to an address in Minnesota. If all checked out, then yes, she'd won.
She struggled to keep her mind on the road during the commute home to Spotsylvania County. That's where she lives with her brother, Bob, who is a retired federal firefighter, and several dogs and cats.
"Ask me what kind of day I had," she said casually, when Bob Whitmore came in from mowing the lawn.
He asked.
"I think I won $100,000."
Soon the Dr Pepper people sent confirmation and asked to present the check at the FBI Academy at Quantico, where Whitmore bought the soda. But that wasn't possible because of security concerns.
Instead, she was asked to show up at 10 yesterday morning at the WatchCard fuel station off a U.S. 1 access road in Spotsylvania. It was chosen because of its proximity to Whitmore's home and its pair of soda vending machines for a photographic backdrop.
It wasn't a particularly glamorous place to meet, and clouds threatened overhead.
But Whitmore was cheerful. Bubbly, even.
"They could have asked me to go to a pig sty, and I'd stand in it up to my knees," Whitmore confided after a session of handshaking and picture-taking.
After Whitmore held up the obligatory oversize check--a foam-mounted version with her name in big letters--Dr Pepper representative Randy Sullivan of Glen Allen presented her with the real thing. Whitmore is one of 10 potential $100,000 winners in the contest, which ended in July; so far, seven top prizes have been claimed.
The ceremony over, Bob Whitmore drove his sister directly to the bank.
Jane Whitmore planned to go to PETsMART for dog food and cat toys, then to lunch with her brother, then to get a haircut, and then home to bring her checkbook register up to date.
Next, she said, she'd call the Internal Revenue Service for a little dose of reality.
And last night she was headed to her second job, as a cashier at Ukrop's. She's not quitting, she said, because she enjoys the work and doesn't want to be a disloyal employee.
In fact, Whitmore is taking a pragmatic approach to her windfall, spending some but saving most for her planned retirement in about five years.
She is treating for a beach house and meals when her extended family has a reunion later this month. She wants new flooring and exterior paint for the home she shares with her brother.
But possibly her most satisfying plan is to donate to several area groups benefiting animals and people: Lionhearts, the Canine Rescue and Adoption Program, Animal Alliance, the Fredericksburg Food Bank and Hope House.
"I'm not Bill Gates, but I'll do what I can," Whitmore said. "This allows me to do some nice things."
To reach LAURA MOYER: 540/374-5417 lmoyer@freelancestar.com
