Lotto winners say it won’t change their lives much
Published: May 27, 2005
Johnnie and Bill Hagood won last weekend’s $5.6 million Lotto South drawing and promptly decided to become organ donors.
The Church Hill, Tenn., couple will replace their church’s aging organ as part of their plan to tithe 10 percent of their winnings to God.
“Our church’s organ is 30 years old,” Johnnie Hagood said. “It’s been going on a wing and a prayer for a long time.”
When the registered nurse and her husband, a retired Eastman Chemical Co. worker, returned home from services at Ross Campground United Methodist Church last Sunday, she decided to check the newspaper for the winning numbers.
She compared them to the seven numbers the lottery machine selected for her when she bought her ticket at Scott County Tobacco Co. last week.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I called my son, who confirmed it was a winner. I just started screaming.”
Bill Hagood was enjoying his Sunday afternoon on the front porch when his wife’s screams shattered the silence.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “She was trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t understand her. She was talking an unknown language.”
He finally got the message when his wife slowed down and showed him the winning numbers – 7-13-25-37-40-43.
The couple drove to the Virginia Lottery’s regional office in Abingdon just to be sure they had the winning ticket. Officials there confirmed their good fortune.
Johnnie Hagood, who has worked for Wellmont Health System for 30 years, called her bosses during the drive from Abingdon. She promptly retired.
“I’m going to miss my patients,” she said. “I also worked with an outstanding group of nurses. It’s just so hard to comprehend that I don’t have to go back to work.”
The Hagoods said winning the lottery won’t change their lives much otherwise.
“We’re mostly homebodies,” she said. “We’re not really travelers.”
Bill Hagood said he would do a little fishing and maybe buy a few items he couldn’t afford before hitting the jackpot.
The Hagoods opted for the lump-sum payment, which means they’ll receive about $3.2 million before taxes.
“It’s mind-boggling,” Johnnie Hagood said.
The couple were the second Lotto South jackpot-winning East Tennesseans in less than three weeks. Tennessee has its own lottery, but Virginia, one of three Lotto South member states, still draws customers from across the state line.
Johnnie Hagood said she would continue to come to Virginia to buy tickets. She buys them when she makes the 15-minute drive to Weber City.
She didn’t have time to buy more on Thursday, though. She had to hurry home after picking up her winnings because she had a load of dishes waiting for her in the sink.
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