MADISON, Wis., Dec. 2, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Madison working mom Kelly Straub and her family today claimed their $200,000 grand prize in the Home 2 Own Sweepstakes sponsored by RainSoft, one of America's leading manufacturers of whole home water and air treatment systems.
Straub, her husband, Norbert, and their eight-month-old son, Nolan, accepted their prize today in ceremonies at the RainSoft of Dane County dealership from owner Mike Randolph and RainSoft executives Dan Pfister and Richard Verson. The family also includes five-year-old son Jack.
The Straubs were among nearly one million entrants in the H2O Sweepstakes which ran from September 2003 through September 2004.
The family plans to put the prize toward their international adoption efforts. "This is something we'd planned to do for a while and we feel it's really the best way to use our newfound fortune," said Kelly, 36, who is an emergency room nurse. "We couldn't think of a better way to spend the money than to give a child a caring home."
"This is a wonderful thing RainSoft has done," she said, "We truly appreciate it."
"Kelly and her family are truly one in a million," said Richard Verson, director of marketing for Chicago-based RainSoft. "And we're thrilled to be able to help make their dream of adoption come true with the H20 prize."
The RainSoft H2O Sweepstakes was a first-of-its-kind promotion for the water treatment industry. Final activity reports totaled more than 214,000 entries by mail or telephone and an additional 701,714 entries via www.rainsoft.com. Straub's name was pulled in a random drawing of all eligible entries. She had a choice of receiving a new, $200,000 home or a cash equivalent.
When Straub first saw the FedEx envelope containing the prize notification, she said she thought she'd won one of 25 first prizes in the Sweepstakes, a RainSoft Whole-House Water Treatment System valued at $5,500. "And I was thrilled at that," she said. "Then I saw that I'd won the grand prize and I had to go look online at what it was. I was in total disbelief. I've never won anything for myself before, especially not of this size."
RainSoft is one of America's leading manufacturers of whole home water and air treatment systems. RainSoft, a division of Aquion Partners Water Treatment Products, LLC, is an international company with nearly 300 dealers in the United States and 24 other countries. The company is headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Ill. To learn more about RainSoft, please visit www.rainsoft.com.