SIMONE Barker, a higgler from Montego Bay, St James, was a picture of elation as she collected the symbolic cheque for $1 million in the Grace Foods ‘Move Like a Millionaire’ promotion on last Friday at the GraceKennedy headquarters in downtown, Kingston.

The newly minted millionaire shared that the prize money will cover back-to-school expenses for her daughters, and go a long way in helping her to realise some of her other dreams.

“My eldest daughter will be starting high school and the middle one will be going to grade four, so I know that their back-to-school is well set,” Barker said excitedly during the official handover of the prizes to the final set of Move like a Millionaire winners.

“My last daughter is only 10 months old so she’s not going to school yet, but I will also be able to stock up on items for her,” added Barker.

She was among three winners in the promotion for the month of June. The second-place winner, Aleisha Swaby, won $500,000 after buying several cases of Grace drinks for the bar she operates in her St Elizabeth community, as well as other products for her home.

Patricia Gryff-Dickenson, a resident of Montego Bay who routinely enters every Grace Foods promotion that is advertised in her local supermarket, was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had won a year’s supply of Grace Foods groceries as the third-place prize.

Speaking at the handover, Grace Foods Regional Sales Manager Eastern Denver McDonald said the Move Like a Millionaire promotion is one of the ways that Grace Foods thanks its consumers for their loyalty to the brand, which has been around for more than a century.

“Today is a celebration, a celebration of you, our consumers, who buy and enjoy our products.” said McDonald.

“You are the reason why, for over 100 years, we have been able to remain a brand that you know, trust and love. We thank you for continuously allowing us to help you keep your families healthy,” added McDonald.

Barker, who was the last of three persons to become millionaires in the promotion since April, said that she was doing her regular grocery shopping in Montego Bay when a Grace Foods sales representative asked if she would like to sign up.

“My children love the sausages and the Grace Tropical Rhythms in the pouch, and I always buy my beans and coconut milk and other things to cook. A sales representative looked in my trolley and said I already had enough Grace items in my trolley to just enter the promotion on the spot,” she recalled.

“I told her I was in a hurry because I had to go back to selling, and she said I could just quickly give her my name, address, and phone number and she will complete the form for me.”

Barker almost did not believe it when she received a call a few weeks later informing her that she had won a million dollars.

“When the lady called me, me just say ‘Alright then,’ because me never really sure if it real, but I looked up the promotion and remembered that the girl took my information at the supermarket, and I was overjoyed,” said Barker.

She noted that in addition to back-to-school and baby supplies, she also plans to invest some of the prize money into her home and business.

The Move Like a Millionaire promotion, which was put on in celebration of GraceKennedy’s 101st anniversary, ended in June after consumers won more than 10 million dollars in cash and prizes.

In addition to the three millionaires, three winners of half a million dollars, and three winners of a year’s supply of groceries, 101 Grace shoppers also won instant prizes during each month in the competition when they purchased Grace Foods products.