Welcome to TBO.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

Hernando Today > News

Hitting it big

HT photo by BOB EAST III

Kelly Bartlett, center, was surprised Wednesday when two men from Publisher's Clearing House presented her with champagne, flowers and a check for $15,000. Bartlett's son Sean, right, led the Sweepstakes Prize Patrol crew to the Arby's restaurant on U.S. 41 where his mother was working as shift manager where they presented the award while customers watched.

By TONY HOLT

Hernando Today

Published: July 2, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Sean Bartlett and his father were stunned to see two men with flowers, champagne, balloons and a giant check standing outside their door.
The senior Bartlett was spooked and closed the door in their faces.
His son laughed, opened the door and asked who they wished to see.
They were there to give away prize money to his mother, Kelly Bartlett.
He immediately got into his car and led them to her workplace, which was less than seven miles from their Brooksville-area home.
Bartlett, the shift manager at the Arby's on S. Broad St. won $15,000 from Publisher's Clearing House. She has been filling in forms, collecting junk mail and subscribing to the occasional magazine for 12 years before finally hitting the jackpot.
"I figured two minutes of my time is worth it if I won," said Bartlett.
The timing could not have been any better. She is about to miss up to six weeks of work as she recovers from back surgery.
"I was really stressing over money," she said. "I was going to be out of work for a while."
Her stress has since been replaced with euphoria. She was still on an emotional high Thursday — almost 24 hours after Publisher's Clearing House host Dave Sayer presented her with a check in person.
She already hopes to buy a Jeep, treat herself and her friends at a day spa and take them on a wild night at the Seminole Hard Rock Café in Tampa. She also promised to set some of it aside, both for her six-week recovery period and future savings, not to mention payments to Uncle Sam.
Bartlett, 46, had people asking her why she was at work the day after winning the money.
"It's $15,000, not $1 million," joked Donna Hess, the area supervisor for Arby's. She visited the Brooksville restaurant Thursday to congratulate Bartlett.
The restaurant was packed the day before with people taking advantage of the free-sandwich-with-every-drink-purchase special.
Dozens watched in awe as an excited Bartlett accepted the super-sized $15,000 check in front of a microphone-wielding host and cameraman.
"She was floored," said General Manager Jessica Stephens. "It was interesting to see that reaction."
Bartlett's son got a bigger kick out of the comments from some of the customers, who boldly asked Sayer whether what they were seeing was real.
"I thought this show was fake," one of them told Sayer.
"Do we look fake now?" the host retorted.