First-Year Wins Trip to Seattle in Loker Contest

When Sarah Fitzgerald '99 and her friends filled out entry forms for a Loker Commons sweepstakes last month, Fitzgerald teased her friends because they filled out numerous forms while she entered just once.

"Wouldn't it be funny," Fitzgerald asked her friends, "if I win and you guys don't?"

She said she thought it was funny when she returned from intersession and received the phone call informing her that she had won the grand prize.

"It's so amusing," said Fitzgerald, who lives in Thayer Hall. "I thought I had done something egregious without knowing about it."

The grand prize is a five-day, four-night trip for two to Seattle, with hotel and airfare paid for by Seattle's Best Coffee, the largest contributor to the raffle.

Fitzgerald has until December 31, 1996, to vacation to the West Coast city.

The sweepstakes, which took place between January 4 and January 26, was free to all students.

"People seemed very excited about [the contest]," said John Cahill, general manager of Loker Commons. He added that the submitted responses from the students numbered in the thousands.

The raffle was "a nice way to start the year," said Alex McNitt, project manager for dining services. "[It was a way to] have some excitement for the students for the grand opening."

McNitt said students were excited about the contest.

"The students were just filling them out one after another," she said.

The sweepstakes was sponsored by three of the venders at Loker: Seattle's Best Coffee, Pepsi and Freshens. The three vendors donated all the prizes.

A total of 102 prizes were awarded, including a pair of skis, free ski lift tickets, a twelve-speed mountain bike and espresso machines.

The names of all the winners will be posted today in Loker, according to McNitt.

The promoters of the sweepstakes have attempted to contact the winners by phone, McNitt said. But she said they have been only partially successful in tracking down the winners during the chaotic opening week of classes.