AN accountant, a president of an investment company, and a legal assistant were the Christmas draw winners of Coca-Cola Beverage Co. (Micronesia) Inc.’s “Gift Certificates for the Holidays” promo, a media release said.
Gina B. Bacani, an accountant at Keeraku Restaurant in Garapan, and Edward C. De Leon Guerrero, president of Pacific Development & Investment Co., received prizes from Rusty Loyola, CCBCM operations manager, during a simple awarding ceremony held at the CCBCM offices in Chalan Laulau on Dec. 29, 2006.
In a separate awarding ceremony held at the CCBM office on Jan. 9, Loyola presented the prizes to Anthony T. Palacios, a legal assistant at the Attorney General’s Office. Palacios received notification of his winning only in January since his telephone had been out of order.
The three were among the four winners in the Christmas draw held Dec. 20, 2006 at Joeten Shopping Center in Susupe. Loyola said CCBCM was still verifying the fourth winner.
Each winner received $500 worth of J.C. Tenorio Enterprises gift certificates and $500 in gift certificates to Shell Marianas, for a total of $1,000 in prizes.
“We are thankful to Coca-Cola and all the participating vendors for coming up with this promotion at a time when the economy is not that good. We really, really need this,” said De Leon Guerrero and Bacani.
This was the first raffle promo that Palacios joined. He bought six cases of soda for the novena to the Immaculate Conception and got 12 coupons, which he divided between him and his daughter.
When asked what he would do with his winnings Palacios said, “I’m still kind of stunned. I still don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m glad that I won.”
Bacani said she bought a case and a two-liter bottle of Coke at Joeten Shopping Center. She received five coupons. “I’m so overwhelmed with joy when I learned that I won,” she said.
De Leon Guerrero said he bought a lot of Coke products. “All I can remember was that I had to sign on a lot of raffle coupons. I even gave away some. This is unexpected. The prizes will come in handy,” he said.
The “Gift Certificates for the Holidays” promo started on Nov. 20, with the first drawing held on Nov. 22.
The promo was held to help consumers deal with the high cost of fuel and utilities. By giving away gift certificates for gas and shopping for the holidays, Coca-Cola is rewarding consumers with a complete shopping and gas package to cover expenses associated with the holiday season.
Loyola said Coca-Cola will come up with similar promotions in the next few months as a way of giving back to the community.
“We appreciate the consumers for their continued support of our products and we are committed to give back to the community in every way we can. Due to the popularity of the ‘Gift Certificates for the Holidays’ promo, we are considering having similar promos in the future,” Loyola said.