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Jayme Silva of Bethalto emerged the winner of the $10,000 Sweepstakes Prize at the St. Mary's Oktoberfest on Sunday night and she couldn't be more thrilled.
Silva was reached Tuesday night by RiverBender.com and she said it was simply “very exciting” to purchase the ticket for the top prize.
“I have never won a big prize like that before,” she said. “It was very last minute. I went down to the festival just a couple hours on Sunday and purchased my two tickets.
"I receive tickets in the mail each year to purchase. My sister, Laura Harman, called and said I had won. I thought she was joking, but when I found out I had won I was so excited.”
Silva said she went with family members Sunday afternoon to the Oktoberfest and now she is glad she did.
Silva said the Oktoberfest at St. Mary’s is always a lot of fun. She also said she has several family members who attend church at St. Mary’s and she goes to the Oktoberfest every year.
“We go to Queen of Peace Catholic Church,” Silva said, but “we love St. Mary’s Church and the people there. The Oktoberfest is always so fun. It is the community and everybody getting together to benefit the school and church."
Asked if she would do anything special with her winnings, she said, “We might take a trip to Mexico next summer,” she said. “We haven’t decided yet. My nephew is getting married, but we haven’t decided yet, we will see.”
Carolyn Simansky, public relations coordinator for the Oktoberfest, said it was a "great weekend for St. Mary's and Alton," and the event was a huge success again thanks to the volunteer effort and the community.
2015 St. Mary's Oktoberfest Sweepstakes Winners are:
1st Jayme Silva
2nd Robert Stephan
3rd Jamie Fader
4th Loretta Stutz
5th Geoff Zorger
6th David & Lori Harnett
7th Steven Hart
8th Maureen Dombrow & Mark Blaine
9th Don Bohannon
10th P.J. Halliday
***Steven Hart's ticket was won off of a free ticket - Simansky said, "It pays to buy
4! (Buy 4, get 1 free.)"
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