Fayette resident Scott Queen, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at Central Methodist University, has won in the first round of $10,000 drawings for the governor’s “MO VIP” vaccine incentive program. 

“It wasn’t a million dollars, so I came into work the next day,” joked Queen. “That money, as soon as it arrives, is going in the bank. But I will likely use it toward a new boat.”

Missouri residents age 12 and up who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine are eligible to enter for the prize drawings at covidvaccine.mo.gov or by phone at (877) 435-8411, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Drawings will continue every two weeks through October 8. 

Entrants are divided into three categories: adults vaccinated prior to July 21, adults who received vaccines on or after July 21, and adolescents who received a vaccine dose on any date. 

Each drawing selects a total of 180 winners across the state and across the three categories. There will be a total of five drawings and 900 winners. Adult winners receive a cash prize of $10,000, while adolescents receive a $10,000 MOST 529 education savings account, held for them until they reach age 18. 

After the drawing, selectees are notified by email and asked to confirm their status. “The funniest part of this is I’m pretty sure I deleted their first email to me because I thought it was junk,” Queen said. “Thank goodness I paid attention to the second one… I called them to verify, the next morning.”

“If this contest has persuaded one person to get vaccinated, it was worth it,” Queen said, adding that he and his wife received vaccines back in February. “According to their data, it has persuaded thousands of people, so it was well worth it.”

A resident is required to enter only once, and that entry will be carried forward through all subsequent prize drawings, unless he or she is named a winner. All winners will have their vaccination status verified. A second drawing took place last Friday, and the next is scheduled for September 10. 

“Sometimes the big statewide deals like this kind of forget about the small towns,” commented Queen. “It’s nice to know that people from towns like Fayette aren’t left out.”

More information can be found at MOStopsCovid.com/win.