CHUBBUCK — Christmas came early in a big way for Blackfoot resident Elizabeth Ramirez Wednesday when she was surprised at work with a $5,000 check after winning the Zions Bank Paperless Sweepstakes. 

“Oh my gosh what did I do,” Ramirez said she thought as she entered the foyer of her work to find Zions bank officials holding a giant check with her name on it.

Zions Bank Blackfoot Branch Manager Gordon Wankier presented Ramirez with a check for $5,000 Wednesday morning at Family First Health Center in Chubbuck where she works as a medical assistant. 

“I was shocked and so excited,” she said once she realized why they were there.

It was a welcome piece of good news for the single mother of five who went through a divorce this year.

Ramirez says she plans on using the money to pay off her car and will definitely spend some on Christmas presents for her children, three boys and two girls, ranging in age from 22 to 5 years old.

Her sister, Gina Mendez, was on hand when the Zions check was presented and she fought back tears of joy.

“She’s been struggling this year,” Mendez said about her sister, adding the single mom has been holding down two jobs as well as attending school part-time.

“She was worried about Christmas this year,” Mendez said. “She lost her truck in the divorce and almost lost the house. I’m just so happy for her. She needs it more than anyone.”

Ramirez was randomly selected from more than 200,000 entries from Idaho and Utah that were submitted between Oct. 1 through Nov. 30 that enrolled online for eStatements and eNotices from Zions Bank.

Zions’ customers who opted out of paper statements and notices received one entry for each account enrolled for a total of up to five entries. 

“It’s free to make the change to environmentally friendly paperless statements, which also provide increased safety, security and convenience,” said Wankier. “We are very excited a Blackfoot resident won the contest and we congratulate Elizabeth on her $5,000 prize.”

Ramirez’s boss, Dr. Gerald Knouf, said he knew she had won a couple days prior and didn’t tell anyone at work about it at all so it came as a surprise to not only Ramirez, but also her co-workers. 

“I just had to be sure not to tell anybody in this office,” Knouf said. “I didn’t even tell my wife until last night, She’s really deserving of this, she’s super energetic, a hard worker and probably has a bill or two like all of us to get paid off. And hopefully she finds some way to be able to enjoy a little bit of it for herself as well.”

The winner’s sister said Ramirez may be pretty controlled about showing how much the prize money means to her, but added, “She’s gonna break down and cry eventually.”

Ramirez did have one quip after receiving the $5,000 prize.

“I guess I’ll take my vacation now, doctor,” she said.

This isn’t the first time a local resident has won the $5,000 prize either. Just last year, Blackfoot-born Idaho State University football player Josh Hill took home the grand prize, according to Wankier.