By Staff
IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT – Gregg Hendley, center, of Butler, Ala., sits in his new 2002 Kawasaki MULE from Taylor &Sons Inc. in Meridian. The utility vehicle is one of several items he is collecting as the grand prize winner of the BASS Outdoor Adventure Sweepstakes XXVIII. The nationwide contest was open for entries from Dec. 21, 2001-May 15, 2002. Hendley's nieces, 9-year-old Ann Marie Hendley, left, and Jenny Carney, 12, were part of the entourage that accompanied him when he went to pick up his MULE. Photo by Steve Gillespie/The Meridian Star
By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
Aug. 8, 2002
Gregg Hendley said his method has to do more with persistence than luck.
The 29-year-old pharmacist from Butler, Ala., is the grand prize winner of the BASS Outdoor Adventure Sweepstakes XXVIII a package worth $120,000.
He was in Meridian Wednesday at Taylor &Sons Inc. to pick up one of his many prizes, a 2002 Kawasaki MULE utility vehicle.
The rest of his prizes include $40,000 in cash; a 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer LT; a 2002 Triton BASS Masters Classic Boat with a 200 Mercury OptiMax outboard motor, equipped with a Lowrance electronics package and MotorGuide trolling motor and a custom matched trailer; and a lifetime membership in BASS, an organization which promotes fishing and publishes BASSMASTER Magazine.
Gregg first entered the contest more than a month ago and re-entered daily for the length of the contest through the www.bassmaster.com Web site.
He said he plans to use part of the money to buy a home. Gregg, who works at Mr. Discount Drugs in Butler, lives with his parents, Dorothy and Henry Hendley.
It was Gregg's mother who signed for the packet that came to the house last month, filled with information about his winnings and a tax form.
Gregg's father and his brother, Dale Hendley were also at Taylor &Sons to see the MULE and help load it on a trailer. Gregg's two nieces, Dale's daughter, Ann Marie Hendley and Jenny Carney, daughter of his sister, Rhonda Carney, also came along for the ride.
Janice Taylor, who owns Taylor &Sons Inc., and her husband, Priestly, said Kawasaki contacted them about supplying the utility vehicle as part of the sweepstakes winnings.
Gregg said he would try the MULE out as soon as he got home.