The prize of a lifetime

COCOLALLA  — It’s not every day that a North Idaho homeschool mom gets a visit from Publishers Clearing House — and a $100,000 check.

But that’s exactly what Liz Porter, a Cocolalla resident, returned home to on Monday afternoon. 

After spending her morning homeschooling her two daughters, the trio — Liz, Bailey and Kylie — went to visit a friend they recently met at the library. Little did she know, Howie Guja, a member of PCH’s prize patrol, was braving the back roads to her house to surprise her with flowers, champagne, and $100,000. 

Guja flew out of New York early that morning just for the trip, which he said was a normal occurrence for him and the Prize Patrol team. After landing in Spokane, he made the trek north toward Cocolalla. 

The Porter’s three dogs were guarding the house well when Guja arrived, but Liz’s husband Josh quickly came out to corral the tiny pack and escort them into the house. Josh was the first to process the big news. However, Liz was not home. Josh told Guja that she was at a friend's house down the road, but he offered to make a vague call urging her to return home.

“Just come home, you’re going to want to see this,” Josh told Liz on the phone. 

When Guja asked Porter about his initial reaction, he said that the news was an answer to prayer. 

“It’s mind-boggling,” he said. “I’ve been out of work for two months.”

The family moved up to Idaho from California gold country about three years ago and have been setting sights on purchasing property, but the goal seemed lofty with the new challenges they faced. Josh works in construction, but between jobs with his brother-in-law he has been having trouble finding work recently, he said. 

“When you first pulled up, I thought ‘Who is in front of our house?’ he said. “And then I saw your jacket and I was like ‘no way, this is not possibly happening right now.’”

About 15 minutes later, Liz and the kids arrived. She was moved to tears and speechless as she processed what was happening. She hugged her husband.

“Oh my gosh,” she said. “Thank you so much … This is an answer to our prayers, literally.” 

“Well, he answered,” Guja responded.

The family shared in the excitement when one daughter shouted, “Just in time for your birthday.”

It turns out that the real check is expected to arrive in the mail Wednesday, Liz’s birthday, adding to the enthusiasm. 

Porter and her daughters both said they were concerned something was wrong when Josh called. 

“When Daddy called, we thought maybe the chickens had died,” one daughter said. 

Another hypothesis involved a surprise visit from Liz’s sister, but none of their guesses included the events that unfolded. 

Liz had been entering the contest for over a year, never imagining she would win one of the sweepstakes. But, now she says she is encouraging others to keep entering.

PCH was established in 1953 as a multi-magazine subscription agency and now offers a broad range of products, digital entertainment, and services to customers. The organization’s unique sweepstakes opportunities have helped accelerate its success. 

Now, millions of dollars are awarded through PCH’s prize patrol. The prize patrol team is made up of Guja, Dave Sayer, Todd Sloane, and Danielle Lam. Team members travel all over the country to surprise randomly selected winners in person without notice. Prizes are funded by company revenues. If the winner isn’t home, the prize patrol finds another way. 

Anyone can enter PCH sweepstakes with no purchase necessary. There are various ways to enter including promotional mailings, the company’s website, apps and emails. 

“You can win,” Liz said. “It actually happens.”