For sweepstakes winner, free truck fits just fine

When Michael Lewis tried on a pair of boots at the Big R on Newport Highway last year, he wasn’t really thinking about getting a new truck.

That changed when he found out he could enter a sweepstakes sponsored by Tony Lama Boots: try on a pair of boots from the new 3R Collection and you can win a new Dodge Ram.

So he filled out a sweepstakes form – and didn’t think much about it until he heard from Tony Lama headquarters a couple of weeks ago.

“I was in complete disbelief when I found out I had won,” said Lewis, who’s a musician. “I told my wife, Marjie, that I had just won a truck and she screamed and jumped up and down.”

Thursday morning Lewis got the keys to a Dodge Ram 1500 delivered by Tom Addis Dodge.

Mike Fuller, Tony Lama brand manager, gave Lewis the keys outside the Big R. More than 52,000 entries came in from 587 stores across the country.

“The sweepstakes was held across the nation to promote the launch of our new 3R collection,” Fuller said. “These kinds of promotions are a win-win around the launch of a new product line, and we appreciate the great participation.”

Lewis couldn’t believe his luck.

“I was seriously holding my breath until I got the confirmation call a couple of weeks later,” Lewis said. “Then I was really excited.”