Woman wins free gas for a year

By Donathan Prater

Published: May 23, 2008

She’s got a ticket to ride, and she won’t have to care about gas prices for the next year.

That ticket is actually a gas gift card.

Mia Danford, 19, picked up a gas card with an estimated value of about $2,600 Friday at the Circle K’s 302 E. 10th St. location in West Point as the grand prize winner of the store’s two-month promotion throughout the Columbus/Phenix City and LaGrange/Opelika/Auburn area stores.

“I was excited about it when I heard that I’d won,” said Danford, who got the good news by phone on her way to work.

Danford entered the drawing to win free gas for a year one day when she and a friend were shopping at a grocery store across the street from the convenience store.

“Traffic was really backed up, and we were wondering what was going on,” Danford said.

What was going was a long line of applicants vying for the petroleum prize Danford ultimately claimed Friday.

Danford, at one point, attended Southern Union State Community College’s Opelika campus but stopped attending, citing the rising cost of fuel as being a factor in the decision.

Danford now attends West Point Georgia Technical College and is planning to move to Tifton, Ga. soon.

While you might think a celebratory joy ride in her 2003 Honda Accord might be in order for the West-Point native after winning free gas for a year, Danford still plans to spend wisely.

“I’ll still have to budget my money,” said Danford, who attended nearby Cornerstone Christian School and was one of only four students in their graduating class.

The Free Gas for a Year Giveaway has been a promotion that Tony Powers, marketing manager for Circle K stores in the Opelika/ Auburn area says helped get customers re-acquainted with the revamped store’s image.

“What we’re trying to do is to create a more community-minded store that’s in tune with what’s going on in the community,” Powers said.