Corner Store gave away 24 round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines.

Lee Ann Dupont, a 54-year-old clerk from McAllen, won a year of flights from Southwest Airlines in Corner Store’s recent Drink Up and Fly Away contest.

Participating Corner Stores across the U.S. gave away a year of flights from Southwest Airlines to one grand prize winner, and nine additional customers won four round-trip flights. 

From March 4 to May 6, customers could enter to win with the purchase of a 44-ounce Coca-Cola beverage.  In just two months, Corner Store received 60,000 entries.

“This promotion was special because it gave someone who didn’t have the chance to travel the adventure of a lifetime,” said Hal Adams, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for CST Brands, Corner Store’s parent company.

Dupont said she plans to use the tickets to visit Washington, D.C. this fall, then on to Vermont to see the leaves change.

“Here in McAllen, we don’t have a change of season, it is just hot,” Dupont said. “I couldn’t believe I actually won. I’ve always wanted the opportunity to travel and see the country, and now I can.”

Dupont bought the lucky beverage at the Corner Store on Trenton Road in Edinburg, where she stops in to buy a soda every morning, and decided to enter the contest.

“I had just read an article in a magazine about sweepstakes and how people don’t win because they don’t enter. You have to enter to win and keep trying. So I thought, “Why not?” It paid off for me!” she said.

Congratulations to the winners, and safe travels!

CST Brands Inc. is one of the largest independent retailers of motor fuels and convenience merchandise in North America. Based in San Antonio, Texas, CST has nearly 1,900 locations throughout the Southwestern U.S. and Eastern Canada.