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Lucky Lottery and Lake Life

In the midst of all this excitement, I forgot we were headed to the Lake for the long weekend (Martin Luther King, Jr Day is Monday). So needless to say I wasn't as prepared as I normally am and I was scrambling at the last minute to get it all together. I asked Ally to text me a list of groceries the kids wanted and this is what I got...

Well after my tv interviews, my phone blew up with notifications...the lottery winners came forward live on the Today Show in New York!  Lo and behold, yes, they were from Munford! Their names were John and Lisa Robinson and they literally live a couple streets behind the store. How exciting! Hopefully they will stick around and make a difference in our little town. 

Our uniform company called us and suggested we make t-shirts. So we did! They were a hit and the kids really loved them! 

This is a note from my pharmacy! This was just a funny note. BUT, you would be surprised at how many emails, text messages, phone calls, private messages, Facebook requests, letters in the mail, etc.   that we received asking for money! It was INSANE. Everyone thought that we got $1,000,000 instead of the $25, 000. I cannot imagine what happened to the Robinsons. It was really shocking to me the number of requests we got (and are still getting since I am doing this post late). People are so tactless. 

This was a reporter from the Daily in New York and our cashier that sold the winning ticket. 

More pictures from the day of the announcement. 

This was on Snapchat the next day. This is John Robinson and his wife Lisa the day they claimed their winning ticket. I am so excited for them because they seem like genuinely good people. I wish them the best of luck. Sometimes I think they lottery can be a curse not a blessing. May God be with them in the days ahead and watch over them and their family.

This was the Snapchat article. This was the only way I could figure out how to save it. Pretty cool!!!

When we finally got to Pickwick late Friday night, it was so nice to be able to sneak away from all this craziness. Whew! I can only imagine how the Robinson's heads must be spinning!

TV Time Means EARLY Alarms

Yesterday was EXHAUSTING! This showbiz is hard work! Ha ha! I stayed at the store last night until 10:30pm doing interviews. I showered and fell into bed only to set my alarm for 4:00am to do it all again. One of the MANY reporters that had been texting me the day before asked if we could go live on the morning show from the store. Well of course! This was Munford and Naifeh's tiny little "claim to fame"! 

I met the news crew bright and early before the store was even open. We were on New York time. 

This guy was super nice and fun to work with...just a normal guy doing his job like anyone else. 

 David Begnaud, CBS This Morning

 Melissa Moon, WREG

Judson and I talked and decided that we wanted to give our employees a little tiny piece of the winnings so that they could share in the excitement of it all and to show our appreciation of them. They were all very kind and appreciative. I know they work so hard for us and it was just a small gesture of thanks! 

The Commercial Appeal on Friday morning. 

MY FAVORITE PHOTO...this was on the front page of the Tennessean 

Our awesome local Chamber friends! 

 Gabe Gutierrez, NBC News

What a fun day! 

Record Setting Powerball Sold at Naifeh's Food Market

As I drove in to work, I saw news vans in the parking lot at the tobacco shop. I got butterflies in my stomach. I could hardly contain myself. I called the kids and told them to hurry up! 

Then I got to our store and NOTHING was happening. It was eerily quiet. No press, no vans, nothing.  Just business as usual. It was weird. I don't have a tv in Munford so I was having to get my news from my iPhone and people coming in the store. My lottery rep came by and said we should hear something from headquarters in a little while. 

The kids arrived and joined in my nervous pace. Sandra and Joe called and offered to come down but I told them there was nothing going on not to come. The phones were ringing off the hook. Reporters calling to see if we knew anything. After a few minutes, Ally looks out the front windows of the store and says, is that Sittie and Jidi?! They had driven down and were just circling the parking lot. Ally called them back and told them to come on in the store. 

Nothing was happening. There were even MORE news trucks at the tobacco store and a few at the convenience store but NONE at Naifeh's. Not one. I was getting VERY nervous. We could REALLY use some extra cash. These past couple of years have been a struggle for us at the stores. We have "survived" but with very little cash flow and only by putting more money into the stores. They have improved in the past 6 months, but boy wouldn't it be nice! 

Eventually, I sent the kids to lunch. I didn't think I should leave just in case. Then. It happened.  Out of no where walked in the head of the Tennessee Lottery, Ms Rebecca Hargrove. She had a huge check in hand (just like you see on tv) and a crew with balloons followed behind her. She walked straight over to me and asked, "Are you Mrs. Naifeh"? I said, "Yes?" She said, "Congratulations, you sold the WINNING ticket"! 

She asked if I was willing to speak to the press and participate in a live press conference. Of course, I said YES! She said, give us a few minutes to tell the media they are at the wrong location and then we will do it! Our store went from a ghost town to a media circus! 

The BEST thing about all of this....people were really happy! The entire town felt like they were winners. It was a PROUD day for all of Tipton County. Wanna know why our town is so special? These flowers were sent to us from a local small town Florist, Hometown Flowers, as a congratulations! Can it get any sweeter than that? I love my friends at Hometown Flowers. 

The kids had a BLAST taking pics and soaking in the excitement of it all. 

This picture was used on the cover of a zillion papers the next day, I loved it because it was so natural of the kids. They weren't posing, a reporter just caught them taking a selfie with the check! 

I did so many interviews that day...it was surreal how fast your life can change with fame in an instant.