A Barre, Mass., family was able to keep its house thanks to a recent sweepstakes sponsored by Tire Warehouse Inc.
Due to the faltering economy, Randall Pichierri and his family of four were in danger of losing their house via foreclosure.
During a visit to the Tire Warehouse shop in Barre, Pichierri entered a sweepstakes for $10,000 that the Nashua, N.H.-based dealership was sponsoring throughout five New England states.
"The store associate was asking me questions about my car,” he says, "but I knew I had to focus on getting that sweepstakes form filled out."
His form was chosen from among thousands. However, in an effort to keep Pichierri's win a secret, the Tires Warehouse store manager asked that he arrive at the store to select from several consolation prizes.
Pichierri went to the store and the manager asked him to look through a bin of low-priced tools for a consolation prize.
While shuffling through the tool selection, he noticed something at the bottom of the pile: a giant $10,000 check with his name on it.
"That was the happiest day of my life," Pichierri recalls. "I was so overwhelmed that I even hugged the store manager. It was like winning the lottery."
Pichierri's house was two days away from foreclosure.
He used the money to pay the bank and also pay his heating bill. And there was enough left over to buy a Nintendo Wii entertainment system as a gift for his family.
