Four lucky Oxford residents won a combined $675 worth of ‘Main Street Merry Money? from the Oxford Downtown Development Authority (DDA).
And the best part is all the money will be spent in downtown Oxford, benefitting local merchants and promoting the DDA district as a great place to shop, dine and be entertained.
Between Dec. 1 and 21, contestants in the holiday promotion were required to pick up an entry form at any one of the 52 participating downtown merchants.
Participants had to visit all 52 businesses within the 21-day period and have each one validate their entry form in order to enter a special drawing for gift certificates, 100 percent of which were paid for by the DDA.
Glenn McTaggart won the top prize of $250 in gift certificates, which he plans to spend with his wife Carol at Victoria’s Delights, downtown’s popular bistro featuring gourmet dishes and wines.
‘Victoria’s Delights is our favorite place in Oxford to eat,? he said. ‘When I asked my wife (what to do with the Merry Money), she didn’t even hesitate and I agreed with her.?
McTaggart said he enjoyed the ‘adventure? of going to all 52 downtown business on the list. ‘It was quite a task. The merchants were just so wonderful. They were enthusiastic and encouraging.?
Overall, McTaggart said the whole experience ‘really kind of put me in the Christmas spirit.?
Darlene Toliver and granddaughter Taylor Barrett, a fourth-grader at Oxford Elementary, won second place with $225 worth of gift certificates.
Toliver plans to use the entire amount to purchase six months worth of exercise time at HealthQuest. She’s been going there regularly for a year and is ‘feeling much better? as a result.
Toliver, who’s vice president of the Oxford Women’s Club, had knee surgery two years ago. Afterward, she found herself having trouble recuperating because she had ‘gotten out of shape.?
‘I had no stamina,? she said. ‘I could hardly keep up with the grandkids.?
Today, thanks to exercising at HealthQuest, Toliver said she’s ‘getting my strength back.?
‘I’m losing weight and getting my body back in shape,? she said.
As for her granddaughter’s half of the prize, which amounts to $112.50, Toliver is buying her out, but the 10-year-old still plans to spend her dollars downtown.
Barrett is going to purchase a collectible horse figure from the Covered Wagon Saddlery. ‘I collect horses,? she said. ‘I have a whole shelf of them at my dad’s house. I have about eight horses already.?
She also plans to buy a shirt from Great Lakes Mercantile. ‘It’s all about Michigan. It has a lot of details about it,? Barrett said.
Whatever money is left over, Barrett plans to combine with the more than $200 she’s already squirrelled away to open a personal savings account at Oxford Bank.
‘I’ve been saving for a long time,? she said.
George Brittain, a 57-year resident of Oxford, was the Main Street Merry Money contest’s third place winner, receiving $200 in gift certificates.
He plans to spend it all on tools at Grove’s True Value Hardware. ‘It’s one of the only spots where I can get what I need,? Brittain said of the hardware store inside the Oxford Marketplace.
If Brittain looks familiar, it’s because you have probably seen him shoveling snow off the sidewalk for downtown merchants, a job he’s done for the last six years.