HOT PURSUIT
Becky Kelm of Owatonna hits the jackpot of $500 by winning coverall in the Steele County Times Bingo contest. Publisher Rick Bussler, left, hands her the check as her husband, Dennis, holds the winning card. Staff photo by Audrea Horejsi
Over the years I’ve always enjoyed playing a little Bingo whenever and wherever I can.
County fairs, camping, festivals and community celebrations are just a few places I’ve tried my luck at winning Bingo.
Of course, I’ve never won anything big. I’ve maybe slipped in a few wins here and there over the years, but nothing that amounted to anything other than the bragging rights of winning and maybe a few bucks to stuff in my pocket.
Earlier this year, I got the bright idea to spread my love of playing Bingo into the newspaper for readers to enjoy. Our sales team went to work to come up with some advertising sponsors to help pay for the costs associated with the game, including the chance to win $800 in prizes.
In August, we set out to play Bingo. We printed special Bingo cards (it takes special printing software to do) and inserted them into our newspaper.
And it proved to be an adventure.
By design, we offered five numbers every week. Or so that was the plan.
One week we inadvertently left out the numbers. And boy did the phones light up. Without any hesitation, callers asked, “Where’s the Bingo numbers?” One little, well okay maybe big, slip-up, and we had a major crisis on our hands.
To calm the waters and get things back on track we printed double numbers the next week.
We offered four ways to win: Letters S, C and T and coverall or blackout. Not surprisingly, the letters represented Steele County Times.
Our letter winners were Clara Miller, Jerry Urness and Gary Miller. We’re happy to report that Becky Kelm of Owatonna won the jackpot of $500.
“We’ve never won anything before,” said Becky as she and her husband Dennis came into our office to claim the winning card. The highlight for me was to see the smiles on their faces as I handed them the $500 prize. It’s even more exciting when it goes to someone who hasn’t become a regular winner.
We’d like to extend a special thanks to all those who played as well as our sponsors. In this dark world and polarizing times, it’s nice to be able to offer something with no controversy tied to it.
Even if you didn’t win, we hope the game proved to be exciting and fun over the past three months.
Judging by the participation and positive feedback from readers, we hope to go in hot pursuit of another round of Bingo next year.