Photo By Julie Mitchell | Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Ronald Adams had his MILITARY STAR card account paid in...... read more read more
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The Army & Air Force Exchange Service paid off the MILITARY STAR card accounts of a young Soldier and two Vietnam Veteran Airmen as part of its third annual Your Holiday Bill Is On Us sweepstakes.
The grand prize winners, Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Graser of Tucson, Ariz., retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Ralph Barrett of Lakeland, Fla., and retired Air Force Master Sgt. Ronald Adams of Fort Walton, Fla., were selected randomly out of nearly 5 million entries worldwide to have their MILITARY STAR card accounts paid in full up to $8,200.
All three winners, who used their MILITARY STAR cards at Exchange during the holiday shopping season, had balances less than the prize $2,500, so they received statement credits as well.
“It’s a privilege to honor these deserving MILITARY STAR cardholders by paying their account in full,” said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes, Exchange senior enlisted advisor. “Sgt. Graser, Chief Barrett and Sgt. Adams are proof real heroes win at the Exchange. We’re looking forward to bringing this sweepstakes back for the fourth time during the 2017 holiday season. Just like in previous years, every swipe will be a grand-prize entry.”
Graser, a recruiter assigned to U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion Phoenix, received his prize during a presentation March 24 at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Exchange, where he took scissors to an oversize MILITARY STAR card statement to symbolize his account being wiped clean.
“Winning this prize has taken a load off,” said Graser, who also received a statement credit of roughly $700. “This really means a lot to me.”
For Barrett, who served for 30 years, including in Vietnam, the win was a welcome surprise. He travels 100 miles round trip to shop the MacDill Air Force Base Exchange a couple times a month—sometimes more. He had his small balance paid and received a statement credit of more than $2,400.
“This is amazing,” the 78-year-old said during his prize presentation at the MacDill Exchange.
Adams, 67, also served in the Air Force during Vietnam. He spent 24 years in the military, spending most of his career maintaining C-130s. He had his small balance paid in full and received a statement credit of more than $2,200 during a ceremony at the Hurlburt Field Exchange.
“I was skeptical when I got the call,” said Adams, who shops the Exchange weekly with his wife, Kathy. “I had to trust but verify. When you see these contests, you say, ‘That’s someone else. It’ll never be me.’ It really was a surprise.”
The MILITARY STAR card is an exclusive line of credit for the military and their families to use at the Exchange—no matter where military members serve. During November and December, shoppers were automatically entered in the Your Holiday Bill Is On Us sweepstakes each time they used their MILITARY STAR card to pay for purchases at any Army or Air Force Exchange location or on shopmyexchange.com.
The sweepstakes had 10 second-place winners, who each received $1,000 MILITARY STAR statement credits. Twenty-five third-place winners, including 95-year-old Helene Gonzalez, a widow of a Vietnam Army Veteran, received a $500 credit. Gonzalez received her prize alongside Graser at Davis-Monthan.
Each holiday season the Exchange gives away a minimum of $30,000 to MILITARY STAR cardholders who utilize their exchange benefit using a MILITARY STAR card during November and December. In addition to the annual sweepstakes, the MILITARY STAR card offers exclusive savings year round with 5 cents off per gallon when filling up at Exchange Expresses and 10 percent off food purchases at Exchange-operated fast food restaurants. Authorized shoppers can learn more about the MILITARY STAR card at www.MyECP.com.
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2017 11:25 |
| Story ID: | 228610 |
| Location: | DALLAS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 116 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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