Woman Wins Free Apartment for a Year

With a single raffle entry, Rebecca Wilson walked away with the grand prize in the "Live Free for a Year Sweepstakes" at The Preserve at Alafia, according to the Osprey Observer.

According to a March 17 story in the Osprey Observer, Wilson won free rent on a two-bedroom apartment for one year at . The estimated value of the prize was nearly $19,000.

Wilson, who is now living in the winning apartment with her family, told the Observer that she made the contest entry while looking for a place to live that was close to her work and to her adult children's school. Both are at Hillsborough Community College.

She told the Observer she attended the February drawing party, with no thought of winning from among the hundreds of entries “I thought it would be a fun evening and we might go home with a box of chocolates,” she said. But when her name was called, she jumped out of her chair, knocking it to the ground, according to the article.

The Preserve at Alafia is an apartment complex located on the Alafia River and includes an 80-acre nature trail, river access for boating and a fishing pier.