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Red Deer couple bag Great Grocery Giveaway

Co-op membership and a newspaper subscription have paid massive dividends for a Red Deer couple.

Co-op membership and a newspaper subscription have paid massive dividends for a Red Deer couple.

Their big challenge will be how to divvy up the prize — a $3,000 gift card for Central Alberta Co-op stores.

Glenda Stoller’s name was the last drawn from the 12 finalists in the 2013 Great Grocery Giveaway, an annual contest put on by Central Alberta Co-op and Red Deer Advocate.

Offered a grand prize of $1,500, entrants were told that their prize would double if the winners were Advocate subscribers — and they were, publisher Fred Gorman told the finalists gathered at Deer Park Co-op in Red Deer for the draw on Saturday morning.

Stoller said she and her husband, Mark, live near the store, and they have been Co-op members and Advocate subscribers for years.

It was the first time she had entered the contest.

“My husband thinks he can use this at the home improvement store, but I don’t think so. He’s a carpenter, so he thinks he can buy material there, but I’ve told him, ‘no.’” she said with a smile.

She plans to buy a few groceries and then work out a budget for the rest.

Second and third prizes of $1,500 and $500 in gift cards went to Tilly McKenzie and Sharon Schultz, respectively.

All finalists, who were required to attend the draw, had received a $50 gift card earlier on and were presented with a bag of groceries upon arrival.

The Great Grocery Giveaway is the newspaper’s most successful event of the year, Gorman said while waiting with store manager Darrell Ames to make the draw. Only one of the 12 finalists did not show up for the draw and was therefore ineligible to win any of the prizes.

Headquartered in Red Deer, Central Alberta Co-op operates in five additional locations, including Elnora, Innisfail, Lacombe, Spruce View and Stettler.

bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com