EAST LANSING, Mich. — Brandon Ebright got a little richer on Monday thanks to a COVID vaccination and the state's MI Shot to Win Sweepstakes.
“I went and got the COVID shot July 26, me and my wife, and they asked me did I want to enter into the lottery and I said sure," said Ebight, who lives in Okemos. "I just took it as a joke at that point you know, I never with nothing like that.”
Ebright said he almost didn't get the vaccine, but after his family and parents contracted COVID, he changed his mind.
“Me and my wife sat down and talked and came to the conclusion that it would be best if we just got the shot to take care of everybody," Ebright said. "Not just thinking about myself at this point and thinking whats better for my children and even the community around us.”
When he got the phone call telling him he won, he couldn't believe it.
“At first I didn’t answer because I thought it was a scam," Ebright said. "So, I was like nah not answering again because I just got a scam call recently before that. Then I answered it and he was like ‘is this Brandon Ebright and just wanted to let you know you won $50,000,’ and I was like ‘wow really? Swear to God.”
Ebright owns Heart N Sole in Okemos and plans to use some of the money for his business.
"I just want to be able to really put this money to work where I can show people with hard work and motivation that you can do something good to give back,” Ebright said.
Christine Duval of West Bloomfield was the big winner of the sweepstakes' $2 million prize.
There were eight other winners of the $50,000 daily drawing:
- Todd Demeyers of Oakland Township
- Alyssa Armstrong of Caledonia
- Caleb Nielsen of Paw Paw
- Kevin Underwood of Lowell
- Brian Kulesz of Sterling Heights
- Jacqueline Paul of Indian River
- Breya Matthews of Grand Rapids
Nine high school students receved $55,000 scholarships:
- Landon Burkhart, Dakota High School, Macomb County
- Karan Choudhary, Plymouth High School, Wayne County
- Josiah DeBaets, Eastern High School, Kent County
- Ian Miller, Salem High School, Wayne County
- Meadow Surman, White Lake Middle School, Oakland County
- Mallory Wheeler, Reading High School, Hillsdale County
- Jackson Wittwer, Eisenhower High School, Macomb County
- Kamare Wright, Thurston High School, Wayne County
- Hudson Chambers, Grand Rapids City High/Middle School, Kent County
The vaccine sweepstakes is now over. Nearly 5.3 million or 65 percent of Michiganders over the age of 16 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine according to the states vaccine dashboard.
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