Exchanges Celebrate MILITARY STAR Sweepstakes Grand-Prize Winners with $5,000 Cash Prizes
To make service members happy in 50,000 ways, you can’t beat MILITARY STAR’s® Home for the Holidays sweepstakes!
For the fifth year in a row, the sweepstakes gave away cash prizes to help members of the military community celebrate the holidays. 2022 was the first year that the number of winners was expanded to 30, with five grand-prize winners each receiving checks for $5,000, 10 second-place winners each receiving $2,500, and 15 third-place winners each receiving a $100 Exchange gift card.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Theodore Holliday received his grand prize at a presentation at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Jan. 5. He and his family were feted by JBLM Deputy Joint Base Garrison Commander Col. Christopher Hall, JBLM Senior Enlisted Advisor Chief Master Sgt. John Marquez Jr., Exchange Regional Vice President Carrie Cammel and JBLM Exchange General Manager Matthew Beatty.
From left: Western Region Northwest Area Regional Vice President, Carrie Cammel; JBLM Senior Enlisted Advisor, CMSgt John Marquez Jr.; Deputy Joint Base Garrison Commander, Col Christopher E. Hall; JBLM Exchange General Manager, Matthew Beatty; Jackson Holliday; Nikolas Holliday; Jili-Anne Holliday, sweepstakes winner SFC Theodore Holliday II; Kimberly Holliday; and JBLM McChord Exchange Main Store Manager, Holly Elliott
Holliday attended the presentation with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandson, and said he was planning to use his winnings to pay bills.
“It’s always awesome to see a JBLM community member win a worldwide sweepstakes like this,” Beatty said. “It comes just in time to help SFC Holliday with the costs of the holiday season.”
At Lackland Air Force Base Exchange, military spouse Veronica Ortegon collected her $5,000 grand prize in a ceremony on Jan 4. Ortegon’s husband, Master Sgt. David, is an Air Force reservist.
“It’s a real honor for the Exchange to help military heroes like the Ortegon family have happy holidays,” said Lackland BX Main Store Manager Patricia Murauskas. “We’re so grateful to our service members, their spouses and their families for all they do for us.”
Lackland BX Main Store Manager Patricia Murauskas, left, presents Home for the Holidays winner Veronica Ortegon with her grand prize.
Other grand-prize winners were Navy retiree James Cannelis—who received his prize at the Fort Hamilton Exchange—Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Earl Budd and military retiree spouse Ikuko LoSciuto.
In all, MILITARY STAR awarded $51,500 in the 2022 Home for the Holiday sweepstakes, upping the total to more than $160,000 awarded to service members and families since the sweepstakes began in 2018.
“Congratulations to all our Home for the Holidays sweepstakes winners,” said Exchange Credit Program Senior Vice President Tommy Ward. “It’s a privilege for MILITARY STAR to serve—and reward—those who serve.”
From left: Fort Hamilton Exchange General Manager Julissa Pettway; winner James Cannelis; Main Store Manager Barbara Rodriguez; and Fort Hamilton Garrison Commander Col. Brian Jacobs.
