Hagerstown man wins 2008 Jeep Patriot

February 28, 2009|By MARLO BARNHART

HAGERSTOWN -- It wasn't the first time David Brodka had received a mailer containing a key from Hoffman Automotive in Hagerstown. But when he went to the dealership Thursday to see what he had won, Brodka was amazed when he left in a 2008 Jeep Patriot.

"I always go in, but I usually get the low prize," Brodka said Friday.

After the number on his key/mailer was checked, he was told to wait while the Hoffman staff verified some things.

A short time later, Brodka, 44, of Hagerstown, was told he was the winner of a vehicle with an estimated value of $20,000, said Doug Stahl, general sales manager of the dealership on Edgewood Drive.

Brodka still was smiling from ear to ear Friday.

"Wouldn't you?" he asked.

Brodka has the title to the four-door, sport utility vehicle free and clear.

"I pay the taxes and the insurance like any other vehicle," he said.

Already the owner of a number of vehicles, Brodka said this is his first one with a keyless remote entry. It also has a lot of "bells and whistles" he doesn't have on his other vehicles, he said.

About once a month for a year and a half, the dealership has been mailing 35,000 to 40,000 mailers to the public, Stahl said.

"This is the first time someone has won a vehicle in one of these contests," he said.

The program creates a lot of traffic at the dealership, which often leads to other sales, Stahl said.

Prizes start at $5 and, in the past, someone has won a high-end grill and a $500 lottery ticket, he said.

Brodka said he fills out every contest entry form he gets in the mail.

"It's exciting to win something ... anything," he said.

No stranger to good luck, Brodka said he won $2,500 when he was in his 20s from a publisher's contest.

"I also won $6,000 at Charles Town Races & Slots, but I spent a lot trying to win that," Brodka said. "This one is free and clear."

Brodka said he will be driving his new Jeep around to show to family and friends for a few days.

"No one believed he won it," Stahl said.

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