Dolecheck wins truck from Creston Hy-Vee

When Creston Hy-Vee Store Director Jeremy Odem showed up at Duane and Eula Dolecheck’s door last week, Duane nearly turned him away.

“I actually thought he was an insurance salesman,” Duane said with a laugh. “I did not recognize him. He said, ‘Is this Eula Dolecheck’s residence?’ I said, ‘Who wants to know?’ He said, ‘I’m Jeremy, the manager at Hy-Vee and she just won the truck.’ I said, ‘Well, come right on in, then!’”

Eula, 68, won the 2016 Ford F-150 in a drawing of Hy-Vee customers who had used their Fuel Saver Plus Perks cards at the Creston location during the contest period from Aug. 29 through Nov. 13.

“We’re really excited and very surprised,” Eula said. “You want it to be you, but you never dream that it will happen. I’m sure there’s many, many customers at the store and everyone wants to win it.”

Eula shed a few tears when she heard the news.

Odem had tried calling Eula but did not get an answer, so he drove to the Dolechecks’ house to deliver the news.

“I drove to Eula’s house Tuesday morning to congratulate them,” Odem said. “(They’re) awesome people and it was a fun morning. They’re awesome customers of ours. It was good to see the smiles on their faces.”

Eula said she and Duane are “dedicated” Hy-Vee customers.

“We didn’t change our habits at all,” she said about going to the store during the contest period. “But, we did use the pharmacy and we’re there at least two times a week, it seems like.”

According to Odem, Creston Hy-Vee saw a dramatic increase in the number of people signing up for the Fuel Saver Plus Perks card.

In addition to the truck giveaway, Creston Hy-Vee also gave away five Weber cast grills and 10 Hy-Vee $100 gift cards to random customers who swiped their card.

“I thought it went really well for Hy-Vee as far as getting folks signed up,” Odem said. “It was a great way to introduce the card to new customers and show them what they can do with the card. The buzz about it was incredible. The entire community, not just Creston but surrounding towns, people were excited about the possibility of winning a truck.”

Odem said he’s looking forward to doing something else in the future that will be just as exciting for the store and its customers.

As for Eula, she’s excited to be driving her brand new Ford F-150 truck.

“I just retired from Bunn in July. We’ve done some traveling but didn’t really have a reliable vehicle,” she said. “We intend to vacation Iowa and this will be fun to travel in.