MILITARY STAR Surprises 10 Shoppers With $35,000 in Home for the Holidays Sweepstakes

Ten military shoppers have won a combined $35,000 in cash—simply for using their MILITARY STAR_® cards to make purchases—in the 2021 MILITARY STAR Home for the Holidays sweepstakes.

Redstone Arsenal Exchange General Manager Sheila Enderle (left) and Main Store Manager Chantel Scott (right) present retired Army 1st Sgt. Thomas Tucker with an oversized $5,000 check, the grand prize in the MILITARY STAR Home for the Holidays sweepstakes, Dec. 20 at the Redstone Exchange. Also pictured: Thomas’ wife, Stephanie and their granddaughter, Azaria Pearl.

Five grand-prize winners—one each from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard—received a $5,000 check, while one runner-up from each service branch won $2,000. The winners were automatically entered into the sweepstakes after using their MILITARY STAR card twice at a military exchange and twice at the commissary between Sept. 24 and Oct. 21.

Retired Army 1st Sgt. Thomas Tucker made his grand-prize-winning purchase at the Ramstein Air Base commissary in Germany. Tucker was presented with an oversized $5,000 check at the Redstone Arsenal Exchange on Dec. 20 while visiting Huntsville, Alabama, for the holidays.

“It felt absolutely terrific,” Tucker said. “The Exchange personnel were inclusive, and there was a spirit of peace and happiness in the atmosphere.”

Marine Corps Sgt. Jerry Pierre, Navigational Aids Technician on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, won the grand prize with a purchase from the Camp Foster commissary. Pierre was presented with his check at the Camp Foster Exchange on Dec. 20.

“When I first found out that I won $5,000 from the Exchange, I thought it was a hoax, but when I realized it was for real, I was ecstatic,” Pierre said. “I will spend some of the money on getting my younger brother and sister gifts for a Christmas to remember.”

The MILITARY STAR Home for the Holidays sweepstakes is sponsored by PlayStation, Hisense, WestPoint Home and Pegasus. In the four years since the first MILITARY STAR Home for the Holidays sweepstakes, the program has awarded a combined $110,000 to deserving military winners.

Other grand-prize winners include:

• Airman 1^st Class Angela Ospina, Aviano Air Base, Italy
• Retired Navy Chief Warrant Officer John Luscan, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida
• Retired Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Barry Atkinson, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana

Runners-up include:

• Army Sgt. Fidele Agossou, Fort Irwin, California
• Air Force Veteran Nevardo Cayemitte, Patrick AFB, Florida
• Retired Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Thomas Kelley, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
• Retired Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Kelly, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Florida
• Retired Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Victor Tran, Fort Meade, Maryland

“Using a MILITARY STAR card has literally paid off for these lucky shoppers—and just in time for the holidays,” said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Osby, Exchange senior enlisted advisor. “With all the sacrifices military families make in service of this nation, the Exchange Credit Program is honored to make these shoppers’ spirits a little brighter this holiday season.”

Staff Sgt. Mark A. Kauffman contributed to this report.