FORT HOOD, TX — A soldier at Fort Hood has won a grand prize in a worldwide sweepstakes.
Private Miguel Maldonado won a grand prize in the sixth annual MILITARY STAR® Your Holiday Bill Is on Us sweepstakes.
“I didn’t think it was real at first,” said the Bronx, N.Y. native. “Things like that don’t happen in real life.”
Maldonado has served in the Army for 18 months, and Fort Hood is his first assignment.
Fort Hood Exchange General Manager Daniel Wise presented Maldonado with the $2,500 MILITARY STAR statement credit on Feb. 28.
The MILITARY STAR card is an exclusive line of credit for service members and their families to use at exchanges and commissaries – no matter where they serve.
“It’s a privilege to celebrate Pvt. Maldonado’s big win,” Wise said. “It’s also an honor for the Exchange to have this opportunity to thank him for his service.”
Maldonado uses his MILITARY STAR card "all the time" for everyday purchases and meals.
Maldonado was one of five grand-prize winners who had their entire MILITARY STAR balances paid off (or received a statement credit if their balance was below $2,500) in the sweepstakes. Ten second-place winners received $1,000 statement credits and 25 third-place winners received $500 statement credits.
During November and December, shoppers worldwide automatically earned an entry in the Your Holiday Bill Is on Us Sweepstakes every time they used their MILITARY STAR card at any military exchange, ShopMyExchange.com, myNavyExchange.com or at the commissary. The Army & Air Force Exchange Service collaborated with the Navy Exchange, Marine Corps Exchange, Coast Guard Exchange and the Defense Commissary Agency to sponsor the sweepstakes.
“There’s a bunch of things I want,” he said. “I just haven’t decided what I’ll get yet.”
