Coke spreads holiday spirit to first-time winners

First time and top prize winner Marilou Paet said that this personal belief that she would win a laptop for her daughter enabled her to gain the top prize at the first drawing for Coca-Cola’s “Spread the Spirit” promo.

Her daughter, Victoria Aldan, an 18-year-old education student at Northern Marianas College, has been longing for a laptop to help with her studies. Paet considered her prize as a wonderful Christmas present for her daughter.

“From the time I bought Coke on Thanksgiving and put my entry in the drop box, I told myself that I was going to win that laptop for my daughter,” Paet said. “When Coke called me at work and informed me that I won, I thanked God and jumped for joy. I was so excited that I found myself slapping the back of one of my customers!”

Paet, a staff at one of the catering companies on island, has never left Saipan, since she set foot on the island 20 years ago and has never changed her favorite drink, Coke. She said that Coke is the brand of choice for her family, although they each have a preferred drink: Marilou likes Coke, Victoria goes for Paradise Sun, and Marilou’s 14-year-old son, Christian Villanueva favors Coke Cherry.

Like Paet, all the other winning entrants to the Coca-Cola “Spread the Spirit” promo are first-time winners.

Roel Cabacungan said that he was happy to win an overnight stay with meals at Aqua Resort Club. Since he is single, he said that he would look for a date.

Williemae Castro, another winner of the Aqua Resort Club gift certificate, said that she would treat her family of five, which includes a baby.

Andrea Duenas, who won a Six-Foot Subway sandwich, said she would use the giant sandwich to party with her children. She said that Coke Classic was her favorite beverage.

Mitsue Restaurant owner Kazu Matsumoto said that he regularly bought two to three cases of Sprite, Coke, and Nestea every week. The self-confessed Nestea fanatic was the other winner of a Six-Foot Subway Sandwich.

Augusto Santos was not only a first-time winner; he was also a first-time owner of a cellular phone. “I’m happy that I won the iConnect 425 cell phone with a free phone card because I never had a cell phone before,” said the mechanic.

Arlene Bercero won a gift certificate for four with brunch to Saipan World Resort’s Wave Jungle. She said that she would take her husband and their 10-month old son as well as a friend to enjoy a day at the water park as a foursome.

Two other winners Donovan Pangelinan, a student and another winner of iConnect 425 cell phone with prepaid phone card, and Riza Cano, a homemaker and also a winner of a gift certificate to Saipan World Resort did not make it to the awarding of prizes.

The Coca-Cola Spread the Spirit promo is an expression of the “Coke Side of Holiday.” It ran until Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008. The Grand Drawing was held on Jan. 2, 2009 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at Joeten Shopping Center in Susupe. A Yamaha XT 225 Motorcycle provided in part by Joeten Motor Company Inc. with $500 in Shell V-Power fuel awaited the grand prize winner. The baby grand prize was a PGO Metro “Buddy” Scooter and $500 in Shell V-Power fuel. An Acer Aspire One Laptop sponsored in part by Megabyte was intended for the first prize winner.

Other prizes included three Six-Foot Subway Sandwiches, three iConnect i425 cellular phones with prepaid phone cards, three gift certificates from Aqua Resort Club for an overnight stay for four with meals, and three gift certificates from Saipan World Resort for a day at the Wave Jungle water park for four with meals.

The grand drawing coincided with a live remote broadcast by Power 99. Coca-Cola Beverage Company (Micronesia), Inc, gave away exciting prizes to grand drawing games participants.

Coca-Cola®, Coke® Cherry, and Sprite® are brands of The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage company. NESTEA® is a Nestlé brand, licensed by The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola North America markets NESTEA® ready-to-drink iced tea in the U.S. Coca-Cola North America is a unit of The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands. Along with Coca-Cola®, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world’s top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke®, Fanta® and Sprite®, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world’s largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate exceeding one billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.coca-colacompany.com and www.kospn.com. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]