Corner Store Gives Away Year of Free Flights

MCALLEN, Texas -- A local resident and Corner Store customer will fulfill her dream of traveling around the country thanks to a promotion from the convenience store retailer and Southwest Airlines.

As the grand-prize winner, Lee Ann Dupont, a 54-year-old clerk, won a year of free flights from Southwest Airlines in Corner Store's recent "Drink Up and Fly Away" contest. Nine other customers won four round-trip flights each.

"This promotion was special because it gave someone who didn't have the chance to travel the adventure of a lifetime," said Hal Adams, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for CST Brands Inc., Corner Store's parent company.

From March 4 to May 6, customers who purchased a 44-ounce Coca-Cola beverage could enter to win. In just two months, Corner Store received 60,000 entries.

Dupont bought her beverage at the Corner Store on Trenton Road in Edinburg, Texas, where she stops in to buy a soda every morning. She had read an article in a magazine about sweepstakes and how people don’t win because they don’t enter.

"You have to enter to win and keep trying," she said. "So I thought, 'Why not?” It paid off for me!”

Dupont plans to visit Washington, D.C., this fall and then continue on to Vermont to see the leaves change.

“Here in McAllen, we don’t have a change of season; it is just hot,” she said. “I couldn’t believe I actually won. I’ve always wanted the opportunity to travel and see the country, and now I can.”

San Antonio-based CST Brands Inc. was spun off from Valero Energy Corp. on May 1. In total, it operates approximately 1,900 locations when factoring in its Canadian division, Dēpanneur du Coin.