Northwestern Employee Donates Sweepstakes Winnings to the University
Posted on Nov. 17, 2009
Brenda Ruples, assistant controller for Northwestern Health Sciences University, recently won $1,000 in the “Win $ Win” Sweepstakes from Horace Mann Insurance Companies. The prize included a $1,000 gift for Ruples and an additional $1,000 donation to any educational facility or program of her choice. Ruples chose to give the prize to Northwestern’s “Imagine Our Future” Capital Campaign.
“I was so surprised to hear that I had won,” said Ruples. “I had put it out of my mind.” Horace Mann Insurance Companies hosted an ice cream social on campus last summer for people interested in learning about the company’s benefits. “It was my second day working at Northwestern, and I wanted to learn more about Horace Mann,” Ruples said. “After I spoke with them, I was given a card with a code on it. I just entered the code on the internet and forgot about it.”
Ruples is one of 16 people nationwide to win the $1,000 prize. Donating the money to the University was a natural choice because it is the school she has the closest connection with, said Ruples, who is slightly embarrassed about all of the attention she is now receiving. “I am not one who likes being in the spotlight.”
Horace Mann presented Ruples with a check on Nov. 17, 2009, in the Northwestern cafeteria conference room. A congratulatory cake was served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. “I sure hope they do not present me with one of those oversized checks,” said Ruples, before the ceremony. “That would be too embarrassing to take to the bank.”
Photo: “I am a lucky person,” said Brenda Ruples, assistant controller. “These things always seem to come at the right time.” Ruples, center, pictured with Mark Zeigler, DC, president of Northwestern Health Sciences University and Sue Grieme of Horace Mann Insurance, donated $1,000 to Northwestern’s “Imagine Our Future” Capital Campaign.