Staff report
LUMBERTON — For Murray West, a Lumberton Fire Department battalion chief, his service to the community may be rewarded — in a big way.
“It’s a pretty amazing thing,” West said. “What are the odds?”
West and James Strickland are the first two finalists for United Way Car Giveaway, their names having been pulled from a rotating cylinder at Peterson Toyota on Tuesday. They will join 18 other finalists, one of whom will win either a Chevrolet Spark, Nissan Versa, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris.
The two qualified for the contest as “fair-share” givers — meaning they contribute the equivalent of one hour’s pay a month to United Way.
“That’s something we try to promote through the city; the city encourages all of us to do that,” West said. “I have no problem with it because I feel like we should give back to the community, that’s why I’m a firefighter.”
Strickland, who could not be reached for comment, works at Tredegar.
Their names were chosen from a cylinder with the names of 867 fair-share givers.
“It would be great if I could win it,” West said. “A vehicle in better shape and gas mileage would definitely help us as a family.”
The 10 drawings which will be held on Tuesdays and rotate at the participating dealerships — Lumberton Chevrolet, Lumberton Honda, Lumberton Nissan, Peterson Toyota and Fair Bluff Ford.
The next drawing will be held Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at Nissan Chevrolet. The 20 finalists will participate in a reverse-raffle in December at Biggs Park Mall. The last person standing will pick an envelope with the name of the car that person wins inside.
The United Way’s campaign goal is $715,000.
According to Sandra Oliver, executive director of the United Way of Robeson County, people can still qualify by donating. To do so, call the United Way office at 910-739-4249.
“We’ll keep putting entry forms in every week as we get pledges,” Oliver said.
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