Local Couple Wins $1,000 after Participating in SHOP N' WIN Sweepstakes

When San Bernardino resident Dora Negrete, 77, received a call Monday evening, Aug. 5, that her husband had won $1,000 she thought it was a telemarketing scheme and politely hung up on the would-be telemarketer. The persistent caller said “Mrs. Negrete was very polite but steadfast in the fact she did not want the $1,000. Three phone calls later, when she noticed the call was coming from a local number, she realized that maybe it was for real. Her husband, Al, who will turn 87 in September, was chosen as the winner of the July Shop N’ Win Sweepstakes, a monthly coupon and sweepstakes book published by Advantage Marketing and distributed by the City News Group. This publication gives residents the chance to win big as they shop at local businesses. This also gives the advertisers an advantage over some competitors. For example, if you want to go out to dinner, why not go to a place that allows you a chance to win $1,000? Persuaded by his wife to fill out and turn in a coupon for a buy-one-get-one free combination plate at Maria’s Cafe in Colton, Al said it was an uncommon circumstance for him. “Normally I don’t sign up for things,” he said. “[Dora] told me to fill out the slip and I said, ‘What for?’ but she said, ‘Just in case.’” While visiting Al’s brother in Grand Terrace, they picked up the Grand Terrace City News at Food Connection and found the Shop N’ Win coupon book inside. During an afternoon lunch at Maria’s cafe, Al used the coupon, and on Tuesday, Aug. 6, received his cash reward at the City News Group offices in Grand Terrace. He said he planned to celebrate by taking his family (the couple has six children and fifteen grandchildren) out to dinner for the occasion. They will possibly dine on seafood, which Al shared is their favorite. When asked, “What are your plans for the remainder of your prize?” he smiled. With a recently married daughter (her wedding was at the Shandin Hills Golf Club in San Bernardino), Al joked that the winning funds could help him and his wife begin to “replenish” some of their savings that had been used for the cost of his daughter’s wedding. The couple has lived on South State Street in San Bernardino for 40 years and shared they have never won anything this large before.