The first winner of Ohio’s $1 million Vax-a-Million vaccination incentive prize said she was driving to her family’s home in suburban Cleveland when she received a call about the good news – from Gov. Mike DeWine.
“A whirlwind,” Bugenske, 22, said. “It absolutely has not processed yet. I am still digesting it — and I like to say that it feels like this is happening to a different person. I cannot believe it.”
In a virtual media briefing Thursday, Bugenske spoke along with 14-year-old Joseph Costello and his parents Colleen and Rich. Costello was the first official winner of the Vax-a-Million full scholarship giveaway.
Bugenske moved to the Cincinnati area at the beginning of the year for her job as a mechanical engineer at GE Aviation. She grew up near Cleveland and graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 2016.
“If winning a million dollars isn’t incentive enough, I don’t know what is,” Bugenske said.
She said she received the Moderna vaccine as soon as she was eligible, long before the lottery was announced.
Bugenske said she hasn’t thought much about how she will use the money. She knows she will be donating some to charities and invest most of it.
She was on her way to Cleveland to look at used cars when she got the word, she said, and added: “I think buying a used car is still in my future.”
Joseph is an eighth grader in Englewood near Dayton. He said he was still processing his big win.
Although it's a long way off, Joseph said he's thought about Ohio State or Miami of Ohio for college.
His mother said the plan was always to get her family fully vaccinated however the Vax-a-Million announcement accelerated their plans.
Both winners got a phone call from Governor Mike DeWine before the announcement was made. Colleen said she couldn’t believe the phone call and thought it was a recorded message from the governor.
"I was really thankful at that moment that there was a bench nearby, because I needed to sit down,” she said.
DeWine visited with the Costello family in person along with his wife, Fran DeWine, on Wednesday, after the announcement. He said he didn't know the names of the winners until shortly before he made the calls.
“Calling someone and telling them that they’ve won million dollars is a great thing, and calling a family and telling them that they have a scholarship paid for four years is also fun,” the governor said.
DeWine announced the program May 12 to boost lagging vaccination rates.
Vax-a-Million is open to permanent Ohio residents who have received either the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or their first part of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccination.
More than 2.7 million adults signed up for the $1 million prize and more than 104,000 children ages 12 to 17 entered the drawing for the college scholarship, which includes tuition, room and board, and books.
Four more $1 million and college scholarship winners will be announced each Wednesday for the next four weeks.
The deadline to opt-in for the next drawing is May 30 at 11:59 p.m. The next winners will be announced Wednesday, June 2 at 7:29 p.m.
You can enter the drawing here or enter by phone at 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).