OMAHAN WINS NEW CHEVROLET SONIC IN TREASURE HUNT

             Alee Forsythe, 23, of Omaha won a new 2012 Sonic from Huber Chevrolet priced at $17,290 in a recent Chevrolet Sonic Adventure promotional contest in Omaha.

            She and her boyfriend, Brendan George of Omaha, also 23, scored highest among hundreds of contestants in a treasure hunt conducted by mobile telephones in downtown Omaha on Oct. 30. They’ve been dating for about two months, both are May 2011 graduates of Creighton University, and both are involved in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Alee has a part-time marketing job with Midtown Crossing.

            Brendan said he agreed before entering that Alee, who had been driving a 19-year-old Oldsmobile, would get the car if the pair won the contest.

            “I don’t need a car, and her car is falling apart. It was a no-brainer for me,” said Brendan.

            “This is definitely a blessing,” Alee said. “And Brendan is so nice to let me have it. Isn’t that so sweet?”

            In the contest, about 350 two-person teams gathered at Heartland of America Park and were given 55 challenges to complete in two hours. The teams scored points by using their smartphones to answer questions, decipher clues and follow instructions to visit various sites – and they had to do it all on foot.

            Alee and Brendan’s strategy was to start with the most distant challenges, then work their way back. “We went far away, kind of hoping that it wouldn’t be very busy, and then worked our way back toward the park,” she said.

            “We chose to just jog at an even pace and if we got a little winded, we just paused for a second and then kept jogging,” Brendan said.

            They completed 46 of the 55 challenges – better than they’d hoped for – but guessed that another team they’d noticed would probably win.

            “We saw them at a lot of stations, running past us, so we thought it’ll be fun to see them win, they seem like nice people,” she said.

            But when the points were totaled, Alee and Brendan won.

            “It felt really good. I think we were both in shock,” Alee said. “My jaw dropped.”

            The contest, held in 27 American cities between Oct. 22 and Nov. 20, was designed to promote the Sonic, a new car from Chevrolet that emphasizes high value, low mileage and excellent safety features including 10 air bags. Alee won a sedan; a hatchback is also available.