Toni Obrad is this year’s Lions Shopping Spree winner. She and her husband Shannon Plummer have had a rough year, starting out with her breaking both her leg and wrist in January. In March, Plummer needed a knee replacement. The win this year was without a doubt a benefit to the winners as well as high school students, for which the spree fundraises. The event began in 1990, in cooperation of Kings Market, Market Place and Valmark, with proceeds from ticket sales going toward the Lions’ high school scholarship fund.
“We couldn’t do it without Kings,” Jim Carroll, Lion member, who has been the chair of the Spree, said, noting that they are given a discount on the groceries, as well as the time and energy it takes from store staff. This year Sheila Martin was the chair and put a lot of work into putting the event together.
Not included in the spree is meat and cheese; however, Lions provide $50 for meat and cheese as well as a turkey to the grand prize spree winners.
The Lions also raffle off three turkeys. Casey Baisch won one and donated it to the Friday Harbor Food Bank. The second was won by the Food Bank, and the third was donated to the American Legion for one of their members.
Plummer ran for Obrad, still in recovery from her fall. Hearty congratulations were given as the crowd gathered to watch Plummer race to grab as many groceries as possible in the four-minute time span. Even Valmark’s owner Vern Howard showed up for the fun and congratulated the couple.
When asked if he had a plan routed, or a list of items, Plummer responded that he did, starting with paper products.
“I don’t need to go fast,” Plummer laughed, showing off his long stride. For those who have not had the pleasure of meeting him, Plummer is a giant of a man and not a quiet soul – he has a big voice and an even bigger heart, as stated in the GoFundMe site for the couple. He has coached high school football for 29 years and track for seven years. He has assisted in multiple fundraisers such as the Terry Ogle Benefit. Plummer is also a proud veteran of the U.S. Army. Obrad is known for her 28 years of teaching at the elementary school with special education.
Plummer got into place behind his cart while Carroll clicked his stopwatch. The race was on! The four minutes flew by as Plummer quickly made his way from the paper products on the righthand side of the store to the cooking items on the left.
“I didn’t get half of what we talked about, but it was fun,” Plummer said when time was up. Groceries totaled $1,032.62. Although final numbers have not been tallied, Lions estimate approximately $3,000 were brought in for scholarships after all grocery expenses. Printonyx prints the raffle tickets for free, and Lions members gave a shout-out to them in gratitude.
Heather Spaulding Staff photo Shannon Plummer grabs items from Kings shelf as quickly as possible
