Baumholder Soldier wins $40,000

Ford Mustang from AAFES

 

By Ignacio “Iggy” Rubalcava

U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder Public Affairs Office

 

BAUMHOLDER, Germany -- When Pvt. Eric Mooney, 4^th Battalion, 70^th Armor Battalion “scratched” his entry ticket and dropped it in the box at the Post Exchange he could not have known that he had just won a brand new, $40,000 Ford Mustang. Mooney was presented his new car April 27 in front of the Baumholder Post Exchange.

     He was visibly excited as he scooted into the driver’s seat of his new car and could only say, “It feels real good. I never expected anything like this. I thought it was a joke when I got the email (notifying him that he had won).” 

     Mooney was the European Region winner in the Young Corporation and AAFES world-wide scratch and win game, which offered AAFES customers world-wide the opportunity to win a car.

     Willie Bristow, exchange restaurant business manager, KMC consolidated exchange, traveled to Baumholder to present the car keys to Mooney. “I can tell he’s pretty excited. This is a very expensive car. A $40,000 Ford Mustang, I mean, that’s something everybody wants,” said Bristow. 

     AAFES gave away a car at every one of its five regions world-wide. Mooney was the lucky winner in the European Region. “We support our military world-wide. We have a lot of military members world-wide and we go where the military goes, so we wanted to give away one of these in every region. That’s the right thing to do,” said Bristow.

     Mooney is currently deployed but returned to Baumholder for the birth of his daughter. The car presentation happened to coincide perfectly with his leave.

     Mooney is wasting no time in putting the car to good use. “I’ve got to pick up my mom at the airport tomorrow. That should be quite a surprise,” said Mooney. “I’d like to thank AAFES. If it wasn’t for AAFES it wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

     When Mooney’s wife Jessica, who is already a few days past her due date, learned about their good fortune her reaction was one of disbelief. “I’m very excited. I didn’t even know that my husband had participated in the contest. He told me one day, ‘I think we just won a new car’ and I said what are you talking about? I couldn’t believe it,” she said.