Cathy Portmann reaches towards Austin Cleaver to hug him in gratitude. (Richard McGuire photo)
For some reason, there’s never been a vegetarian winner in the shopping sprees at the two Osoyoos grocery stores. The strategy of the winners has always been to head straight to the meats.
“No tofu for me,” said Cathy Portmann, who won a 60-second shopping spree in AG Foods’ Great Grocery Giveaway contest last Thursday.
Taking a page from other spree winners, Portmann enlisted the help of Osoyoos Coyote Austin Cleaver, who did the running for her and turned out to be a star off the ice as well as on it.
And she took an idea from Stewart McLeish, who recently won a spree at Buy-Low Foods, and she put orange Post-It Notes on the items she wanted Cleaver to pick up.
But she went a step further, writing words of encouragement such as “Great job,” “Keep going,” and “Doing great” on them.
Cleaver is a fast skater and it turns out he’s also a fast runner, as he deked around photographers, store staff, shoppers and display stands.
Fellow Osoyoos Coyotes Carter Robinson, Colin Bell and Judd Repole also showed up to give him support.
He filled the cart with fresh and frozen meats and seafood, grabbing boxes from freezers and shoving them into his brimming cart.
Sixty seconds passed very quickly, but Portmann was elated with Cleaver’s generous haul.
She threw her arms around him to hug him in thanks.
The items had to be rung through the checkout, where they totaled $649.36. There was a $500 limit, but AG Foods manager Derek Morgan was in a good mood and let Portmann keep the difference.
Portmann works at insurance brokers Johnston Meier just across Highway 3 from AG Foods.
As for Cleaver, the run helped him to get in shape for Friday night’s game against Kelowna, where he was the star of the game, scoring two goals and an assist.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Austin Cleaver and Cathy Portmann discuss strategy before the spree as they eye the meats. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver makes a beeline down the aisle from the front of the store and heads straight for the bacon. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver first grabs packages of bacon. Cathy Portmann has put Post-It notes with words of encouragement on the products she wants. (Richard McGuire photo)
Cathy Portmann points out some meat she wants Austin Cleaver to go for while at right Andrew Stuckey photographs the action. (Richard McGuire photo)
Cathy Portmann plays coach, telling Austin Cleaver where to go next. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver loads up the cart with some boxes of frozen meats while Cathy Portmann looks at the freezer where he’ll go next. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver adds some frozen seafood to the cart, which is now overflowing. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver leaves the seafood aisle and heads into the home stretch as the clock ticks down. (Richard McGuire photo)
Cathy Portmann says a little prayer of gratitude as Austin Cleaver looks over his haul. (Richard McGuire photo)
Cathy Portmann hugs Austin Cleaver as she thanks him for doing such a good job on the spree. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver and Cathy Portmann look over the haul of meats that Cleaver picked up. (Richard McGuire photo)
The food had to be rung through the till. It totalled $649.36, which was over the $500 limit, but AG Foods manager Derek Morgan let Cathy Portmann keep the difference. (Richard McGuire photo)
Cathy Portmann stuck Post-It notes with words of encouragement on the meat products she wanted Austin Cleaver to pick up. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver, second from left, was cheered on by fellow Coyotes. From left are Carter Robinson, Cleaver, Cathy Portmann, Colin Bell and Judd Repole. (Richard McGuire photo)
