Westford Woman Wins $10,000 from Shaw's

Like most of us, Westford's Christy Desisto is still recovering from the holidays.

As her good fortune would have it, she is a stickler for finishing what she starts, making her financial rebound from Christmas spending about $10,000 easier.

"I had quite a collection of game pieces in a basket. I'd gotten behind over the holidays," Desisto said, unable to suppress her "I just won a sweepstakes" winning smile.

Which was probably for the best, as there was plenty of photo opps happening as Desisto was ceremoniously awarded her actual check and an obligatory "giant check" during a brief media moment Monday morning in the produce section of  her neighborhood Shaw's, at Royal Ridge Center in Nashua.

Store manager Ray Ravenelle did the honors, while store employees gathered around snapping photos and offering a round of applause for Desisto and her family.

She's been playing Shaw's supermarket's Wish Big, Win Big Holiday Giveaway sweepstakes since the game started Nov. 4, receiving game tickets during her frequent food shopping trips, which she then placed on the corresponding game board markers. It's a simple concept: When you collect all the markers for a specific prize, you win that prize.

For the past several weeks she'd taken to tossing her game pieces in a basket, until she found time to play catch-up.

"Two Saturdays ago, while my husband and older son were away at a track meet in Dartmouth, I decided to put all the pieces on the game board," said Desisto.

"When I placed the final marker on the $10,000 spot I though maybe I'd made a mistake. So I called my 7-year-old, Austin, in and asked him to look at the board, because I couldn't believe it. Then I called my husband," said Desisto. "I still wasn't totally convinced, so I got dressed and we took the form over to the store to get it verified."

Even after the store told her she was really, truly, a $10,000 winner, Desisto couldn't help wondering if there would be a catch.

"It took me a while to accept that it was real," said Desisto, who is not a compulsive sweepstakes player.

"Every now and then I'll try a game at McDonald's, but this was just something I did because I shop frequently enough to gather a lot of game pieces," Desisto said.

The family, including her husband, Robert, older son, Robert Jr., 15, and Austin, will use the prize money to plan a vacation, once they settle on a destination.

"The boys have talked about Disney, and both boys are interested in World War II history, so going to see Pearl Harbor in Hawaii is a possibility," Desisto said. "Austin wants to go to South Africa to get a penguin. That's not going to happen."

"I've always wondered who wins these contests. Now I know," said Desisto.

Launched in November, the sweepstakes at Shaw's has already resulted in thousands of prizes and free product winners being awarded throughout New England, including cash, automobiles, LED TVs, digital cameras, Apple iPads, gift cards, and vacation destinations.

Wish Big, Win Big continues through Feb. 9, 2012.