Yokota Military Spouse Wins $10,000 Exchange Subway Shopping Spree

Aida Shimakawa, customer service and central checkout supervisor, waits on the happy couple.

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – When Kellianne Shaw and her husband, Staff Sgt. Anthony, first moved to Yokota AB in February, they decided to grab dinner at the nearby Exchange Subway, since they were still waiting for their household goods to arrive from the U.S.

The trip garnered them a winning prize label from Subway’s “Sip. Rip. Win.” contest: A $25 Exchange gift card.

“We thought that was pretty cool!” Kellianne said.

A couple of months later, however, a trip back to same Subway led to another peel-and-win label prize. This time, the Shaws found a prize for a $10,000 Exchange shopping spree

“I thought, ‘There’s no way!’” Kellianne said, of seeing the $10,000 prize on the label. “It’s still the craziest thing to me.”

The Subway “Sip. Rip. Win.” sweepstakes ran from Jan. 24 to May 15 at overseas Exchanges and featured more than 75,000 prizes, ranging from a free Subway cookie to the $25,000 Exchange shopping spree grand prize.

The Yokota Exchange invited the Shaws to cash in their spree before opening hours so they would have the store to themselves while they shopped.

“The Exchange is where heroes shop,” said Exchange General Manager Julia Woods. “It’s an honor for the Exchange to get to give back to heroes like the Shaws with this prize.”

The Shaws used their shopping spree to buy a TV, replace a broken laptop and spoil their two dogs with new toys. The Shaws, who have been married about a year, also purchased a new dining set to replace the hand-me-down set they had been using.

“We are still trying to create our home together,” Kellianne said. “We are definitely able to fix it up now!”