By Staff
What began as an uneventful shopping trip to Underwood's Shoe Store for two family members turned into a rewarding experience for Mary Schrader of Dowagiac.
When Schrader recently purchased a pair of shoes for her husband, Bob, and their granddaughter, Jessica, she entered the August Shopping Spree Give-away of the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce and walked away one of last month's three winners.
Winners of the August drawing were announced by Vickie Phillipson, program director for the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Development Authority. In addition to Schrader, winners also included Jodi Borah of Coloma, who entered the drawing at Laurie Anne's; and Sandy Kroepel of Cassopolis, who entered the drawing at Homespun Memories. Each of the three women will receive $50 in Universal Dowagiac Gift Certificates.
Phillipson said this is the third year for the two organizations to team up with participating businesses to make it a memorable summer for patrons who shop The Grand Old City.
The retail promotion launched June 1 came to a close with the August drawing. She said the shopping spree give-away was held in conjunction with the three-month "Destination Dowagiac" television advertising campaign which aired on WNDU-TV.
"The summer promotion encouraged local families to support their hometown merchants, as it also invited day-visitors from our surrounding communities in southwestern Michigan and northern Indiana to make Dowagiac their destination as they explore our specialty shops, and our fine and casual dining," Phillipson said. "As they shopped historic Dowagiac, people were invited to sign up to win the $50 shopping spree, every time they made a purchase at one of nine participating businesses."
Phillipson said the three winning tickets in August were drawn from a preliminary pool of semi-finalists, whose names were pulled from entries collected at each of the participating stores.
The six other semi-finalists were: Jerry and LuAnn Woodrick of Galien, who signed up at Imperial Furniture; Tim Pitcher of Dowagiac, who signed up at Judd Lumber Co.; Susan Oosterwal of Dowagiac, who signed up at The Marshall Shoppe; Martha Cox, who signed up at Vincent J. Jewelers; Donna Hannon of Portage, who signed up at Windy Acres Nursery; and Debbie Maley of Clawson, who signed up at the Wren's Nest.