Ohio to announce fourth round of Vax-a-Million lottery winners Wednesday
Updated: 6:40 AM EDT Jun 16, 2021
Yeah. Uh huh. Mhm. But Well, good morning everyone. Last night we had two new winners recording in progress. One for $1 million. The other of course the scholarship. This was the third week that we've done this and you know, I normally where it works this week. Mhm. Information is kept very close. Uh you know the drawing is made at some point monday to give lottery people and health people enough time to verify the person has in fact been been vaccinated and I'm told this week, I was told on monday the general locations in the state where individuals were. So I could start thinking about Wednesday and then I think about 5:00. You know, I was given the name, the two names and what I've been doing for the last three weeks is Picking up the phone about 7:00 and calling the winners last night I had the opportunity for and I did actually to knock on the door of Mr Klein and Tell him directly that he had one. So we had the opportunity this morning to kind of uh, share with you, Mark Klein who one is from Richwood Union County and won the million dollars. And uh, we also have Sarah Afanah who won the scholarship. And Sarah Good morning, Good to see you this morning. And your, your mom summer. Good morning. Why don't we, why don't we start with? We'll go back to mark for a moment. And mark, you won, you won the million dollars. Um, how you guys doing this morning? Less than 24 hours. I know that you had family. Family and friends came over shortly after you. It was announced that you won. So I guess you had a celebration last night. Yeah, it was pretty surreal. Uh you know, from the moment we looked out, when we saw you on our doorstep, things just started moving a million miles a minute and we've had, you know, family and friends, uh, reaching out and congratulating us. So it's been really exciting and uh, you know, kind of a fun time to, to have oneness. So that was great. Oh, you know, people are just kind of interested in your story. You you told me that you're you're retired, You wanna tell us what you did before you retired. Um yeah, I previously I worked for marathon petroleum, um several different positions working, but when I retired in 2016, I was a project manager and uh just uh you know, I worked in the areas of environmental and safety and training mostly with my career there. So uh great Ohio company. Uh you know, uh so it was, you know, I've been very fortunate and blessed to have had a good career and and now with the little extra icing on the top of the my life here, this is, this is really good. I think more importantly, it's, it's about getting the vaccine. So I mean, I hope everyone, you know, makes that decision to get it and uh, you know, looks after their friends and neighbors. You and I and Fran. We're talking last night. You got it at the Union County Fairgrounds and we actually visited there. But I guess we determined it was not the same the same day, but I was kind of joking with you and Fran was, I think it was actually you drove through the chicken barn. As I remember at the Union County. They had, they had a kind of a unique way of doing it drive and you drove right through the building and uh, you got the shot. It was, they did a phenomenal job. I thought, oh, it was, it was great. Very, very easy the way they had it set up, you drive through. They had a lot of great volunteers working to get you in and out through the line. And uh, you know, it was, it was they did a fantastic job. We didn't have to even get out of our car. I mean, it was just, I was on one side, my wife was on the other and we both got her shots. And um, you know, it was no big deal when we went back 21 days. I think it was later to get the second one. So, um, you know, and neither of us really had any side effects other than just a little soreness in the arm. So people are afraid and seeing all the crazy things, they should ignore all that. That's not the stuff that's happening. The shots are no big deal. Get them protect your your fellow men and women that you know, I think when Fran I were talking with you and your wife last night, she kind of made the point that you know entering is fine. Winning is fine. But the most important thing is getting vaccinated. So I thought that was kind of Because it's something to say after you guys want $1 million dollars still to say you know, hey that's the most important thing. So b that was interesting. How is she doing? She's doing okay even though I told her that the Megan his mind because she didn't register. Yeah, we'll be back with you in a moment, I'm sure with members of the news media who may have uh have some questions. Thank you Sarah, Sarah, how are you doing? We've had a little trouble there eric with the freezing. I guess so. I don't know. Just try it again. How about now, Sarah, can you, Can you hear me? Good morning? Yes. Good morning. Morning. So, Sarah, What did uh is your mom the one that told you You had one who told me? Um Well, yes, my mom was the one that told me. And yeah. And was she excited? She more excited than you were? Probably. Probably, yes. It was very exciting, surreal. For sure. Well, it's uh it's great, Sarah. You're you're a little young to be picking out of college though, right. I think you're about to turn 14 shortly And you'll be going into what grade then? 8th grade, eighth grade. Have you thought at all about college yet? Or? Or not? Um I thought about going to college, but I've never really looked at colleges a lot. And there's others in your family. Right. You have what? three siblings, I think? Is that right? 3? Yes. Does she has an older sister than 17? Uh, so she's a little envious of this. Oh, I'm, I'm sure she is. But uh, I think younger. Thanks Summer. I think you told me though that it helps the whole family. Right? So of course, yeah, of course we're, um, that's what I told her. I said, what helps us and helps her definitely is going to help help my 17 year old. So that's how we're looking at it. We're just, we feel so lucky and so blessed that, that we, we've won. But you know, like Mark said, we're so lucky that we were able to access the vaccine and it was a seamless process. You know, we got our vaccine at Tribute Hospital and as soon as the kids were old enough to get vaccinated, we signed up and, and it was just, it was a very easy, um, uh, like I said, seamless seamless event for us. So with minimal side effects. So that, that really is what we are. I'm grateful and thankful for. And where did, where did you all actually get the vaccine? Where did you say the hospital? Yeah. Yeah. They're, they're system is awesome. And it was like I said, there was no wait time. You just sort of walked right in and get your vaccine away your 15 minutes and that's it. There was no um, complication. No, it was great. It's a great system. So Sarah are you the youngest or there's somebody younger than you? Um, I have two younger siblings. Okay. So they have not been able to be vaccinated yet. Then assume I have a brother who is 12 years old. That's great. Well we appreciate well stand by and we may have some questions from members of the news media. We just appreciate you doing it this morning and we'll be we'll be back in in a few minutes. Okay? Thank you. Thank you. This week's facts. A million drawing included 3,362,203 adult entries in the drawing for the million dollar prize. And these are as of Monday we released these numbers once once a week. Uh and on that day there was 143,604 Ohioans age 12- 17 enter the drawing for the college scholarship. So that marks from Monday to Monday an increase of 136,414 adult entries, an increase of 10,701 scholarship entries from the previous week. So we continue to see that that moving moving forward, obviously we continue to see the interest in that um comment about the vaccinations were all kind of looking at the same numbers. You know, we're facing what other states are facing and you know, we in a few go back and look at our base week prior to the announcement. Then you look at the first week, second week and the third week is basically filled in. Now it takes a few days to fill in. So the first week, as I said at the time, you know what we achieved in the first week was worth all of it in the increased vaccinations. Uh Second week was good as well. Third week that is now pretty much filling in. Not not as good going going going back, but it's interesting as we kind of drill down on the numbers. Um, you know, it's clearly continuing to make a difference uh, in some of our rural counties, for example, Even into the 3rd week, uh the third week is about completed, we're seeing still increases in Hocking County, Seneca ross, uh Jackson Fed paulding wine dot Crawford Warren uh and Pickaway County really with the exception of warren, those are primarily, I guess you would classify them. I'm just looking quickly really all fair, fairly fairly rural counties. So we're still getting still getting benefit uh, from that as we move forward. But you know, we're really seeing what this vaccine is doing, um and we continue to see it every day. And the way we see what the vaccine and people getting vaccinated and every day is doing. Uh is you just look for example, in the number of cases over the weekend, we reached a benchmark that we set in early March as a way to show marked improvement. The pandemic on saturday, on saturday, the Ohio Department of Health Reported fewer than 50 COVID cases per 100,000 Uh statewide. And that number was 49 0.5. Uh We've been carefully watching the number uh, every day. I'm pleased to share that. The rate This decline has continued as we have moved forward. As of yesterday, we don't have today's numbers yet. But as of yesterday, the two weeks statewide average of cases 100,000 was at 39.1 39.1 Will show a chart in just a minute that they've really going down across the state. I think it's, it certainly indicates that Ohio continues to move forward into really a new phase of this pandemic. We are, we are moving forward. Vaccinations are working. Hospitalizations are down, deaths are down, the threat of Covid is still out there. And for someone who has not been vaccinated, that threat is certainly, certainly still there. We would urge people obviously to get vaccinated. The more of us get vaccinated, the better off. We all are going to be eric. Let's look at the chart for a moment. Um you know, this chart continues to uh, I don't care if we can get real close up of that, but our highest county today, for example, our highest county today is Lawrence County at 77. And if you just go down and drop down, um, once we get down to Richland County 123456789 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17th county down in every county below that 17th county down, every county below that is below 50. Uh, So we're moving and it's consistent, you know, throughout the state or it's going down throughout the state. So we're very happy with where we are, the more vaccines, uh, more we're going to continue to drive to drive this down. Uh, we are ready, ready for questions and uh, we'll open up for the news media governor first question days from Andrew, Welsh Huggins at the Associated Press Governor. Thanks a lot for doing this. Andrew. Um, so switching to politics. Um, what's your reaction, please, to the news that former congressman, Jim Moran oxy has announced that he'll challenge you in next year's Republican gubernatorial primary. What argument will you make to GOP voters to nominate you for the general election? Well, Andrew, thank you for the question. I was thinking this morning that it's throughout my career, there's been a rare, it's a rare time that I do not have a primary opponent. That is the nature of life, that's the nature of politics. And so, you know, there's gonna going to be a primary. That should not be shocking to anyone simply because there's virtually always a primary in in, in the races. And uh, you know, I'll be laying out my vision for the future of the state of Ohio as we, as we move forward. And but you know, I don't think anyone is had more press conferences, been out more than I have. And you know, we're now we're now trying to put this pandemic in the rear view mirror and Ohio is coming out strong and I feel good, very, very good frankly with where we are. We made tough, tough decisions early on. Um, we cut spending, we've froze hiring and you know, it's the budget is considered this week. Senate, his done their work house has done their work now, the conference committee and discussions are going on. I feel very good. You know, about the work that they have done. If you look at our priorities, which is really investing in Ohioans, investing in the future, something we've talked about throughout our administration, not only talked about what we put money into it and we put action into it. You know, I feel, I feel very, very good about where we are. We have work to do. Uh and that work will obviously have to continue and will continue. We're excited about that. But I think we're coming out of this in very, very strong, good shape and we have, you know, still some people suffering and we have to, you know, certainly work on that, but we're doing well and we're coming out of their strong Next question is from julie Washington at Cleveland dot com. Hi governor. My question is about the delta variant. It's a delta variant in Ohio. And if so what threat does it pose for? Unvaccinated Ohio winds. Will the delta variant and the number of unvaccinated Ohioans combine to make it harder for the state to reach herd immunity? Let me refer that to the medical expert. Dr Vanderhof doctor. Yeah. Thank you very much. Very very good question because you're probably seeing media reports about the advent of the delta variant. This is a very that emerged out of India. It's actually referred to scientifically as B- 16172. It is like the 117 in being more contagious than the original strain though it's not likely to be more severe than be 117. The good news that really gets to your question about containment is that the vaccines that we have appear To protect people against even the delta variant, like B117. It causes only a very modest reduction and measured antibody response and that of course doesn't even account for the so called cellular immunity. Um so uh in terms of numbers, the delta variant now accounts for more than 6% of all infections in the United States according to the CDC and out west. Um that those numbers are even higher. Um So far here in Ohio though we're really only seeing a fraction of a percent uh in terms of our total mix but I would fully expect that that will rise if we just look at the UK. Um It is appearing to rapidly overtake B 117 Bottom line is vaccination. It's it's the way out of the pandemic. It's our best protection including against the delta variant. Thank you. Next question is from dan DeRosa, W. O. I. O. In Cleveland. Hey dan. Good morning governor. How are you sir? I'm good sir. A couple of questions for our winners market. You've got to you're leaving us hanging here as reporters. You've got a great story about your wife not registering. Uh I don't know how long you'll be able to hold onto all $1 million and not share it. So we'd love to hear the story behind who got registered, why she didn't register. And then for the mom of our winner Sarah first off we can get mom's name. Can she walk us through? She seemed to be very passionate about getting her Children vaccinated. If we still have uh Sarah and her mother with us. Mark you wanna start? Sure. Um My wife and I we got our shots at the same time. Um But and we were actually talking when it was announced about the whole vaccine malian efforts were like man, we already got our thoughts are we even gonna be eligible? And so as we went through this and and starting a war that would be eligible because we got our vaccinations in March um I went online and register kind of I could and my wife looked at the information and she says I don't really want to sign up because I don't want my name out there and I want to be part of the press conferences and and have my face out there. She's she's pretty shy about that kind of stuff. But if you get to know her, she's really not shy at all. Um But I did not to uh register. And so when the governor told me that I had one, she was still in the house and I opened the door and I I told her I said Cheryl, I said we just won a million dollars and was really excited and I thought about it a second and I said no I won a million dollars because you didn't register. So she kind of had to take that one little bit, but in reality my money for money. So Mark, she might, she might benefit a little bit from that you think, oh benefit more than a little bit, you know, money. My money is her money is her money. Um But she's she's a wonderful wife and uh so I'm happy and blessed to be able to share it with her summer. You guys want to, you still remember the question. Um I think so asking about my uh my passion about getting the kids vaccinated. So I'm a nurse, so I sort of have seen the um the damage that Covid is done in all settings of healthcare. So when the vaccine came out and um I was allowed to get vaccinated, there was no question that my husband and I were going to get vaccinated. You know, my father had had Covid at the very beginning was very ill and my husband. Mhm. Having had Covid, uh any doubt that we're going to get vaccinated, But we were just so excited that that the vaccine was approved for our 17 year old and then, you know, I have two kids that are within the 12 and above age. So we um we we just felt lucky that we were able to get the vaccine and it was available to us. So for me it was a no brainer. As soon as they were eligible, we signed up and we took him in. Thank you. Next question is from Jim Moodie at W. H. I. O. In Dayton. Jim. Hey governor, last week you had hinted that there was going to be some collaboration with private entities for potential additional incentives for the vaccinations. Um, is that is that moving forward? Do you have anything else that you could share with us on that? And a clarification? We're still under technically health emergency from your orders. Is that correct? You can take either one of those that either either order. Yeah, I mean, virtually everything is, you know, is off as far as the mask and you know, what we, the questions we get now, uh, sometimes really have to do with what a hospital is doing or what a nursing home is is doing. Uh, so, you know, the general population, you know, mask or uh, off virtually everything, everything is off. You know, we'll have clarification on the emergency uh, order shortly. But you know, we're pretty much back to normal, we're rolling. You know, indians, reds can have many tickets as they can sell, which is great. And I know people are enjoying that and people are going getting tickets for concerts and they're doing all the things that you know they want to be able to do. So we're back, we're moving and feel feel good about where we are, as far as additional prizes. We are working on that actually, working on this morning, not quite ready to announce anything, but you know, we have some additional kind of incentives and things that the private sector has been been working on. And we hope to announce those in the next, in the next few days. Looking, looking forward to that. There's still, uh, you know, ample reason for people to get their shot, ample reason for people to register if you have not done so. You have until sunday night for the next drawing. The next drawing of course will be next Wednesday. Another million dollars will be given, a scholarship will be given. And we hope to add, uh, you know, as I said, announce some additional prizes and different, different additional things that the private sector businesses are going to, going to be donating. So stay tuned. Next question is from Jackie Borchard at the Cincinnati Enquirer. Hi, good morning. My questions for Dr Vanderhof is still on Sure, he's on great. Um Hi Dr Vanderhof last week. High last week. You said that covid 19 was one of the top causes of death among Children. I haven't seen that reported anywhere else except for a Children's hospital in Alabama. You explain where that information came from. Yeah, that actually comes from information from the American Academy of Pediatrics and we can get you that reference. Uh, offline. Next question is from Mike McCarthy at W. S. Y. X. In columbus governor. Good morning. Thanks for the availability today and thanks for making everyone else they're available as well. Um, I know the Associated Press already hinted upon this, but my question is also about the gubernatorial election and jim rene see joining the primary race. He's already released a video in which he is very critical of your response to the pandemic. I know you just said some tough choices were made in terms of how Ohio responded. But what do you say specifically to the claim that you put fear over freedom with the shutdowns? I've always felt that protecting human life is an essential belief of the people of the state the country. I certainly believe that as far as republicans, we talk a lot about protecting human life. So protecting human life is very important. But I also felt that protecting livelihoods people's ability to make a living was was also very dependent upon our ability to manage the pandemic and our ability not to have massive disruptions where our hospitals are clogged and pictures on tv of people not being able to be treated. So. Ohio has taken a Informed view for the last 15 months about how we move, we involve the business community early on large, small manufacturing, retail, all different sectors as we designed the health orders as we put those orders together. Um, so it was done in a sense, careful way to preserve life, protect people with the understanding that our ability to keep this virus down was going to impact how we were getting through this from an economic point of view and from a jobs point of view and how we would come out of this. So we made decisions early on to dramatically cut spending and we did early at the same time. We we've froze hiring and took the number of people over time down who are working, working for the state of Ohio. Because of those early decisions in a careful way that we did it. We're coming out of this strong. If you look at the national unemployment, we're way ahead of the below that national unemployment level. We're basically back to where we are when we started the budget that is being considered the Senate, the house, the budget that we proposed is informed bye good revenues that are coming out. We're seeing good revenues. And my director of the budget next week on Tuesday will be testifying in giving the latest update. I would simply say that I think people will be pleased with how Ohio is doing in the position that we're in as we move forward. Governor. Next question is the last question for day and it belongs to Sara Arthur's of the Finley courier. Yes. Thank you for holding this governor. My question is for Mark. I'm here in Finland when you said marathon petroleum. My ears perked up. Did you work for marathon here in Findlay? And can you tell us a little bit more about what you did for marathon and your career? Thank you. Yes. I did uh work in family uh for 20 some years, I believe uh uh infinitely. Um I worked as an environmental and safety engineers when I first started with marathon pipeline at the time and worked in in those capacities for several years. And and I then worked in uh the learning and development area. I was training supervisor for the pipeline organization, in the terminal organization and I then moved into um As I said, when I retired in 2016, I was a project manager working on some things related to uh learning and development. So uh love Finley worked there and enjoyed living there. Great community. Um we moved to Richwood because our daughter and son in law and granddaughters all or down here in Marysville, so we moved here to be closer to them and um we found another great community to to live in and uh you know, it's been nice down here. Uh So and again we get to spend time with the grandkids and all that has been been wonderful. Mark, thank you. Thank you very very much, Sarah. Thank you. Thanks both of you for being being with us. We appreciate it very very much. We wish you all all the best. Let me just close by 1. 1 additional thought we have received. I know Some inquiries in regard to my position on House Bill 2 48 and I'm not going to get into all the details about this bill, but I think it's important for us to remember what great strides have been made. How our lives have been changed by vaccines. Probably millions of people's lives around the world have been changed for the better lives lives saved. I remember as a child when polio struck fear, absolute terror. That word in parents and people altered their behavior with their Children, their willingness to go to a ball game and to go to a swimming pool in the summer. People were terrified polio eradicated. Um, it's not not just polio before modern medicines, diseases such as measles, uh mumps, polio, whooping cough. We're comin and caused great, great, great, great suffering uh, and death for thousands of people every single year. Uh, we no longer fear our Children being stricken with polio deaths from tetanus grouping costs are almost unheard of today. And many doctors have never even seen a case of measles, just fundamental changes that we have seen and changes that I've seen in my lifetime because of the great, great work of medical science. Um, this is really vaccines are just so very, very important. And I just think we need to, you know, sometimes it's easy to forget where we work, where we would be without these life saving vaccine. So I look, I certainly Oppenose House Bill 2 48 and but I just think it's important for us to keep a big, big perspective about that. But people can talk about the bill. I'm sure there will be uh opponent testimony as well, and you'll hear from medical experts who will come in and talk about the different provisions of the bill. But keeping the big picture in mind, I think is very important. Hope everybody has a good day, and we'll talk to you next week. Thank you. Mhm.
Ohio to announce fourth round of Vax-a-Million lottery winners Wednesday
Updated: 6:40 AM EDT Jun 16, 2021
If you live in Ohio and got your vaccine, you could soon be a millionaire.The winners of the state's fourth Vax-a-Million lottery drawing are set to be announced Wednesday night.One person 18 years or older will win $1 million and another person 12 to 17 years old will win a full scholarship. The winners are set to be announced at 7:29 p.m. Check back here to watch live.Last week's millionaire, Mark Cline, came from outside of Columbus in Union County. The full-ride scholarship winner, Sara Afaneh, was from the Cleveland area. So far, 3,362,203 Ohioans have entered the drawing to win a $1 million prize, and 143,604 Ohioans age 12 to 17 entered the drawing for a college scholarship.More than 5.4 million Ohioans have received their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.Meet the first six winners of Ohio's Vax-a-Million sweepstakes below.MARK CLINE, OF RICHWOOD TOLEDO: Ohio's THIRD $1 million winnerA 64-year-old retiree is Ohio's latest $1 million Vax-a-Million winner.Mark Cline, of Richwood, was announced Wednesday as the third of five $1 million winners in Ohio's vaccine lottery.Cline said he didn't receive a phone call from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, which has been customary during the first two drawings.Instead, Cline said the governor showed up at his doorstep to tell him -- in person -- that he was the latest winner in Ohio's vaccination incentive program.“We were watching the television, the doorbell rang, and my wife looked on the Ring cam and said ‘there’s some guys out there in suits,’” Cline said through a massive smile in an interview with WBNS.“I go to the door, I opened it up and I recognized Gov. DeWine standing out there," he said. “I shook his hand and he said, ‘Well, congratulations. You just won a million dollars.’”The 64-year-old said he and his wife invited the governor and First Lady Fran DeWine into their living room, where they all watched the television broadcast of the vaccine lottery together.Cline said he received his COVID-19 vaccine at the Union County Fair Ground long before the Vax-a-Million lottery was thought up. He said it's important for everyone to get their vaccine.“I think it’s really important to get that vaccine. Everyone that doubts it, it was no big deal – two little pinches and it was done," he said.Cline retired in 2016 after working for Marathon Petroleum for over 20 years. He moved from Findlay to Richwood to be closer to his children and grandchildren.As to what Cline has planned for the money? He said he has very few plans for himself, but he hopes to spend the money on his family and, perhaps, charitable causes.“My family is already making plans for a beach vacation. (I’ll use the money) to just help out family. I’m retired, so – you know – I’m not dying for money, but it certainly is a life-changer. It can help others who kind of need something,” he said.“I really love that they were giving scholarships as part of this. So I might do something to put some money toward scholarships for kids.”Cline said he has a rather large family and hopes to spend as much time with them as possible."I'm happy," he said. "I'm so happy!"Sara Afaneh, SHEFFIELD LAKE: Ohio's third scholarship winnerSara Afaneh, of Sheffield Lake, was announced as Ohio's third full-ride-scholarship winner in the Vax-a-Million program. That scholarship also includes room, board and books. However, winning a scholarship does not guarantee admission.The 13 going on 14-year-old said her mom was the one that told her she had won the scholarship lottery."It was very exciting, surreal for sure," Sara's mom, Summer, said in a press conference Thursday with DeWine.The youngest winner so far, Sara said while she's thought about going to college but hasn't really looked into a university or area of study.Her mother said while Sara's 17-year-old sister was a little envious, she told them that whatever helps Sara will help the whole family as well.Summer said more than anything, they were grateful to be eligible for the vaccine and for the opportunity to enter. She said her husband and father-in-law came down with COVID-19 and were very sick so they did not hesitate to get the vaccine when it came out."I'm a nurse, so I've seen the damage COVID has done," Summer said. "So for me, it was a no-brainer, as soon as they were eligible, we signed them up and took them in."More than 3.3 million Ohioans entered their names for a shot at the $1 million, up a little from the 3.2 million who had registered for last week’s drawing. More than 143,000 children entered their names for the scholarship, up from just over 133,000 last week.“There are only two more drawings left, so I urge Ohioans to get the shot and then enter for a shot to win a million dollars or, for those aged 12-17 a chance to a four-year, full-ride scholarship including room, board, tuition and books at an Ohio public college or university,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said.Wednesday's announcement comes as the initial bump from the incentive program fades and the vaccination numbers continue dropping.Initially, DeWine’s May 12 announcement of the incentive program had the desired effect, leading to a 43% boost in state vaccination numbers over the previous week.Ohio figures still are not close to the highs of March and April. And vaccine reluctance appears to be so great that on Monday, DeWine made an urgent appeal to providers to distribute as many shots of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as possible, with 200,000 doses set to expire June 23.The two winners announced Wednesday are the fifth and sixth winners of the vaccination lottery. Meet the first four winners of Ohio's Vax-a-Million sweepstakes below.JONATHAN CARLYLE, OF TOLEDO: Ohio's second $1 million winnerAn Amazon delivery driver is Ohio's second $1 million Vax-a-Million winner.Jonathan Carlyle, of Toledo, is the second Ohioan to win the state's vaccination incentive grand prize.The state's newest millionaire is an Amazon delivery driver. Carlyle said he was just getting off work around 7 p.m. when he received a call from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine."I actually missed the call," Carlyle said. "I was checking out from work and had to call him back. But I was shaking when I talked to him when I heard his voicemail -- I knew what it was and about lost it."The governor said he plans to make a habit of calling the state's Vax-a-Million winners ahead of each Wednesday's 7:29 p.m. drawing.“It’s overwhelming. I don’t know what to do. I’m still dreaming," Carlyle said of that call.The Toledo man said he doesn't have any big plans for his new money -- first pay off bills, then, perhaps, a house."I got a lot of bills to pay – so that’s the first thing that’s going to happen,” he said through a massive smile.“Pay some bills and probably buy a house. I’m going to keep working. My girlfriend is going to keep working – it’s going to be a good bedrock for our family. It’s going to be awesome.”Carlyle said the state's Vax-a-Million drawing actually inspired him to finally get the COVID-19 vaccine. After winning $1 million, he said it was well worth it."Get vaccinated! Do it! We need to!" he said.ZOIE VINCENT, MAYFIELD VILLAGE: Ohio's second scholarship winnerOhio's latest winner of the Vax-a-Million scholarship said she wasn't expecting the call Wednesday after signing up for the lottery while waiting to receive her second dose of the vaccine.Zoie Vincent was announced as Ohio's full-ride scholarship winner. Vincent was out of town at the time of the drawing but found out about her luck via a FaceTime call from the governor."So you made a call to my dad and it was just kind of ... weird and he just kept saying your name and I was like, 'What's happening?' And he said I won the scholarship," Vincent said."It was really wild. It came out of nowhere. We weren't expecting it. It was a super big surprise. We were all so excited."Vincent said she is interested in pursuing a career in medicine, specifically pre-med or a biology program. She said she has been looking at schools such as Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve University."I have been interested in medicine and science for as long as I can remember," Vincent said.She said she has completed one year as a med tech at school and it helped solidify her passion for science. She said the scholarship will help her focus on her education in medicine and not student loans."I could see my career instead of me paying off my debt so it was a big relief in that sense," Vincent said.Vincent said she did not hesitate once she was eligible for the vaccine, saying she got COVID-19 a while back and was very sick and wants to do what she can to prevent that from happening to others.ABBIGAIL BUGENSKE, SILVERTON: Ohio's first $1 million winnerAbbigail Bugenske has won Ohio's first $1 million jackpot in the state's Vax-a-Million lottery.A recent college graduate, the 22-year-old Bugenske lives in the Cincinnati area, residing in the small and quiet village of Silverton about 11 miles northeast of the city.She works for GE Aviation, recently moving to the area for her job.She's also an Ohio State University student pursuing a master's in aerospace engineering and graduated from Michigan State University in August of last year.Speaking to the press for the first time, Bugenske said she has no plans to quit her current job — a job she loves — and plans to donate at least some of her winnings to charity.“I was completely surprised when I got the call. I still can’t believe it. It was a crazy night," the 22-year-old said.Bugenske received a personal call from Gov. Mike DeWine, shortly before the state's 7:29 p.m. drawing.“Calling someone and telling them that they won a million dollars is a great thing," the governor said through a large smile, remembering Bugenske's reaction.She was driving from the Cincinnati area to her parents' house in the Cleveland area, a bit oblivious that the drawing was currently happening.“I was screaming enough that my parents thought I was crying and that something was wrong," she said. "And when I started yelling that I won $1 million and was going to be a millionaire, they told me to calm down and make sure it wasn’t a prank before I really started freaking out.”The call was, in fact, real. Bugenske said her phone began to blow up with notes from friends and social media friend requests.The 22-year-old said she received the COVID-19 vaccine long before the birth of the Vax-a-Million program, but added that if winning $1 million isn't an incentive enough, she doesn't know what is.“I originally got vaccinated just to protect friends, family and everyone I came in contact with,” she said, adding that Vax-a-Million win was just a bonus.JOSEPH COSTELLO, ENGLEWOOD: Ohio's first scholarship winnerHe’s only 14, but can attend almost any college he wishes.Joseph Costello, of Englewood, was announced as Ohio's first Vax-a-Million scholarship winner, awarded a full-ride scholarship at only 14 years old.His mother is a chemical engineer and his father is a school teacher. But neither of them will need to figure out how to pay for Joseph's college.“My first reaction was I thought maybe I was listening to your voice -- that it was a taped message," mother Colleen Costello told Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine. "The more we talked, the more I realized it was really live. I was really thankful that moment because there was a bench nearby. I needed to sit down and sort of ... ground myself a little to absorb the information you were sharing.”Joseph had just finished the eighth grade. He just received his first shot on Saturday ahead of Wednesday evening's drawing.His mother entered Joseph and her two other children in the lottery.Now, he gets free college tuition. That scholarship also includes room, board and books. However, winning a scholarship does not guarantee admission.In a big update, DeWine announced that the state will put money into a 529 Plan for the winner. The amount of money put in will be equal to the highest Ohio state university cost. That way, the winner can still go to a college of his or her choosing.Joseph said he's still unsure what he wants to study, or which university he wishes to attend. But the 14-year-old still has time to think about that.
If you live in Ohio and got your vaccine, you could soon be a millionaire.
The winners of the state's fourth Vax-a-Million lottery drawing are set to be announced Wednesday night.
One person 18 years or older will win $1 million and another person 12 to 17 years old will win a full scholarship.
The winners are set to be announced at 7:29 p.m.
Check back here to watch live.
Last week's millionaire, Mark Cline, came from outside of Columbus in Union County.
The full-ride scholarship winner, Sara Afaneh, was from the Cleveland area.
So far, 3,362,203 Ohioans have entered the drawing to win a $1 million prize, and 143,604 Ohioans age 12 to 17 entered the drawing for a college scholarship.
More than 5.4 million Ohioans have received their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Meet the first six winners of Ohio's Vax-a-Million sweepstakes below.
MARK CLINE, OF RICHWOOD TOLEDO: Ohio's THIRD $1 million winner
A 64-year-old retiree is Ohio's latest $1 million Vax-a-Million winner.
Mark Cline, of Richwood, was announced Wednesday as the third of five $1 million winners in Ohio's vaccine lottery.
Cline said he didn't receive a phone call from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, which has been customary during the first two drawings.
Instead, Cline said the governor showed up at his doorstep to tell him -- in person -- that he was the latest winner in Ohio's vaccination incentive program.
“We were watching the television, the doorbell rang, and my wife looked on the Ring cam and said ‘there’s some guys out there in suits,’” Cline said through a massive smile in an interview with WBNS.
“I go to the door, I opened it up and I recognized Gov. DeWine standing out there," he said. “I shook his hand and he said, ‘Well, congratulations. You just won a million dollars.’”
The 64-year-old said he and his wife invited the governor and First Lady Fran DeWine into their living room, where they all watched the television broadcast of the vaccine lottery together.
Cline said he received his COVID-19 vaccine at the Union County Fair Ground long before the Vax-a-Million lottery was thought up. He said it's important for everyone to get their vaccine.
“I think it’s really important to get that vaccine. Everyone that doubts it, it was no big deal – two little pinches and it was done," he said.
Cline retired in 2016 after working for Marathon Petroleum for over 20 years. He moved from Findlay to Richwood to be closer to his children and grandchildren.
As to what Cline has planned for the money? He said he has very few plans for himself, but he hopes to spend the money on his family and, perhaps, charitable causes.
“My family is already making plans for a beach vacation. (I’ll use the money) to just help out family. I’m retired, so – you know – I’m not dying for money, but it certainly is a life-changer. It can help others who kind of need something,” he said.
“I really love that they were giving scholarships as part of this. So I might do something to put some money toward scholarships for kids.”
Cline said he has a rather large family and hopes to spend as much time with them as possible.
"I'm happy," he said. "I'm so happy!"
Sara Afaneh, SHEFFIELD LAKE: Ohio's third scholarship winner
Sara Afaneh, of Sheffield Lake, was announced as Ohio's third full-ride-scholarship winner in the Vax-a-Million program. That scholarship also includes room, board and books. However, winning a scholarship does not guarantee admission.
The 13 going on 14-year-old said her mom was the one that told her she had won the scholarship lottery.
"It was very exciting, surreal for sure," Sara's mom, Summer, said in a press conference Thursday with DeWine.
The youngest winner so far, Sara said while she's thought about going to college but hasn't really looked into a university or area of study.
Her mother said while Sara's 17-year-old sister was a little envious, she told them that whatever helps Sara will help the whole family as well.
Summer said more than anything, they were grateful to be eligible for the vaccine and for the opportunity to enter. She said her husband and father-in-law came down with COVID-19 and were very sick so they did not hesitate to get the vaccine when it came out.
"I'm a nurse, so I've seen the damage COVID has done," Summer said. "So for me, it was a no-brainer, as soon as they were eligible, we signed them up and took them in."
More than 3.3 million Ohioans entered their names for a shot at the $1 million, up a little from the 3.2 million who had registered for last week’s drawing. More than 143,000 children entered their names for the scholarship, up from just over 133,000 last week.
“There are only two more drawings left, so I urge Ohioans to get the shot and then enter for a shot to win a million dollars or, for those aged 12-17 a chance to a four-year, full-ride scholarship including room, board, tuition and books at an Ohio public college or university,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said.
Wednesday's announcement comes as the initial bump from the incentive program fades and the vaccination numbers continue dropping.
Initially, DeWine’s May 12 announcement of the incentive program had the desired effect, leading to a 43% boost in state vaccination numbers over the previous week.
Ohio figures still are not close to the highs of March and April. And vaccine reluctance appears to be so great that on Monday, DeWine made an urgent appeal to providers to distribute as many shots of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as possible, with 200,000 doses set to expire June 23.
The two winners announced Wednesday are the fifth and sixth winners of the vaccination lottery. Meet the first four winners of Ohio's Vax-a-Million sweepstakes below.
JONATHAN CARLYLE, OF TOLEDO: Ohio's second $1 million winner
An Amazon delivery driver is Ohio's second $1 million Vax-a-Million winner.
Jonathan Carlyle, of Toledo, is the second Ohioan to win the state's vaccination incentive grand prize.
The state's newest millionaire is an Amazon delivery driver. Carlyle said he was just getting off work around 7 p.m. when he received a call from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
"I actually missed the call," Carlyle said. "I was checking out from work and had to call him back. But I was shaking when I talked to him when I heard his voicemail -- I knew what it was and about lost it."
The governor said he plans to make a habit of calling the state's Vax-a-Million winners ahead of each Wednesday's 7:29 p.m. drawing.
“It’s overwhelming. I don’t know what to do. I’m still dreaming," Carlyle said of that call.
The Toledo man said he doesn't have any big plans for his new money -- first pay off bills, then, perhaps, a house.
"I got a lot of bills to pay – so that’s the first thing that’s going to happen,” he said through a massive smile.
“Pay some bills and probably buy a house. I’m going to keep working. My girlfriend is going to keep working – it’s going to be a good bedrock for our family. It’s going to be awesome.”
Carlyle said the state's Vax-a-Million drawing actually inspired him to finally get the COVID-19 vaccine. After winning $1 million, he said it was well worth it.
"Get vaccinated! Do it! We need to!" he said.
ZOIE VINCENT, MAYFIELD VILLAGE: Ohio's second scholarship winner
Ohio's latest winner of the Vax-a-Million scholarship said she wasn't expecting the call Wednesday after signing up for the lottery while waiting to receive her second dose of the vaccine.
Zoie Vincent was announced as Ohio's full-ride scholarship winner. Vincent was out of town at the time of the drawing but found out about her luck via a FaceTime call from the governor.
"So you made a call to my dad and it was just kind of ... weird and he just kept saying your name and I was like, 'What's happening?' And he said I won the scholarship," Vincent said.
"It was really wild. It came out of nowhere. We weren't expecting it. It was a super big surprise. We were all so excited."
Vincent said she is interested in pursuing a career in medicine, specifically pre-med or a biology program. She said she has been looking at schools such as Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve University.
"I have been interested in medicine and science for as long as I can remember," Vincent said.
She said she has completed one year as a med tech at school and it helped solidify her passion for science. She said the scholarship will help her focus on her education in medicine and not student loans.
"I could see my career instead of me paying off my debt so it was a big relief in that sense," Vincent said.
Vincent said she did not hesitate once she was eligible for the vaccine, saying she got COVID-19 a while back and was very sick and wants to do what she can to prevent that from happening to others.
ABBIGAIL BUGENSKE, SILVERTON: Ohio's first $1 million winner
Abbigail Bugenske has won Ohio's first $1 million jackpot in the state's Vax-a-Million lottery.
A recent college graduate, the 22-year-old Bugenske lives in the Cincinnati area, residing in the small and quiet village of Silverton about 11 miles northeast of the city.
She works for GE Aviation, recently moving to the area for her job.
She's also an Ohio State University student pursuing a master's in aerospace engineering and graduated from Michigan State University in August of last year.
Speaking to the press for the first time, Bugenske said she has no plans to quit her current job — a job she loves — and plans to donate at least some of her winnings to charity.
“I was completely surprised when I got the call. I still can’t believe it. It was a crazy night," the 22-year-old said.
Bugenske received a personal call from Gov. Mike DeWine, shortly before the state's 7:29 p.m. drawing.
“Calling someone and telling them that they won a million dollars is a great thing," the governor said through a large smile, remembering Bugenske's reaction.
She was driving from the Cincinnati area to her parents' house in the Cleveland area, a bit oblivious that the drawing was currently happening.
“I was screaming enough that my parents thought I was crying and that something was wrong," she said. "And when I started yelling that I won $1 million and was going to be a millionaire, they told me to calm down and make sure it wasn’t a prank before I really started freaking out.”
The call was, in fact, real. Bugenske said her phone began to blow up with notes from friends and social media friend requests.
The 22-year-old said she received the COVID-19 vaccine long before the birth of the Vax-a-Million program, but added that if winning $1 million isn't an incentive enough, she doesn't know what is.
“I originally got vaccinated just to protect friends, family and everyone I came in contact with,” she said, adding that Vax-a-Million win was just a bonus.
JOSEPH COSTELLO, ENGLEWOOD: Ohio's first scholarship winner
He’s only 14, but can attend almost any college he wishes.
Joseph Costello, of Englewood, was announced as Ohio's first Vax-a-Million scholarship winner, awarded a full-ride scholarship at only 14 years old.
His mother is a chemical engineer and his father is a school teacher. But neither of them will need to figure out how to pay for Joseph's college.
“My first reaction was I thought maybe I was listening to your voice -- that it was a taped message," mother Colleen Costello told Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine. "The more we talked, the more I realized it was really live. I was really thankful that moment because there was a bench nearby. I needed to sit down and sort of ... ground myself a little to absorb the information you were sharing.”
Joseph had just finished the eighth grade. He just received his first shot on Saturday ahead of Wednesday evening's drawing.
His mother entered Joseph and her two other children in the lottery.
Now, he gets free college tuition. That scholarship also includes room, board and books. However, winning a scholarship does not guarantee admission.
In a big update, DeWine announced that the state will put money into a 529 Plan for the winner. The amount of money put in will be equal to the highest Ohio state university cost. That way, the winner can still go to a college of his or her choosing.
Joseph said he's still unsure what he wants to study, or which university he wishes to attend. But the 14-year-old still has time to think about that.
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