Photo by Ron Burkett.
the Villari Family
The Villari family plans to use some of their winnings to do home improvements.
As if being one in a million wasn’t hard enough, one Trussville family is now one in 3 million.
Trussville resident Todd Villari was recently awarded a $50,000 cash prize after entering the HGTV “Love Your Home” sweepstakes. The sweepstakes was sponsored by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, and was based off of the popular television program “Love It or List It.”
The Villari family has lived in Trussville 13 years, and Villari said he hopes to call Trussville home for many years to come.
“We enjoy where we live, and we have great friends and neighbors,” Villari said. “We are very happy to be a part of this community, and we hope that this community will continue to grow and thrive.”
Villari, husband and father of four, was selected from 3.3 million total entries. Villari entered after he saw the sweepstakes advertised on HGTV, a channel he watches frequently.
“When I get bored sometimes, I just enter sweepstakes,” he said. “My wife used to give me a hard time about it, and now she doesn’t.”
Villari said there was no stipulation on how the money is spent; however, the family plans to spend a portion of the money on home improvement.
“They notified me by phone that I won. My initial reaction was, ‘No way. This must be a joke,’” he said. “I told [my wife]. She didn’t believe it, either.”
The Villaris have a roster of home improvement projects they would like to complete, a list that began long before entering and winning the contest.
“I think it will enable us to do the things that we’ve been wanting to do to better our family and to make some upgrades that will enhance our house,” Villari said.
The family is part of Faith Community Fellowship in Trussville, which is where the first portion of their winnings went.
“The first check we’ve written was a 10-percent donation to our church as a tithe,” Villari said.
Villari partially credits HGTV for inspiring him to enter the sweepstakes, as well as giving his wife ideas for new home-improvement projects.
“They’ve just brought a new dynamic to American homes, besides the everyday content that most people get bored with,” Villari said.
He and his family also credit Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices for sponsoring the contest. Villari said he encourages others to go and enter sweepstakes, despite the low probability of winning.
“You cannot win unless you enter,” Villari said. “Most people think that online sweepstakes are just to get people’s email addresses, but somebody has to win.”
