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Kurt Johnson
Jill Kottwitz was driving to a seminar last week when she first received a call from the Heartland United Way, so she ignored it.
Only later, when a co-worker at BonnaVilla Homes congratulated her for being chosen as one of 25 winners in a 25 Keys to Christmas car giveaway, did she listen to her voicemail. As it turned out, Jill was not only one of the last 25 lucky key winners drawn, she ended up being THE winner of a brand new black GMC Terrain.
Having been involved with the Heartland United Way campaign for several years, I was impressed with Jill’s heart-felt support for the Grand Island-based umbrella organization, which raises funds in support of 17 non-profits in Hamilton, Hall, Howard and Merrick counties.
“It’s always been payroll deduction here (at BonnaVilla Homes, where she has worked for 25 years),” she said. “So it’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s just a great way to give back to the community. I try to be involved every year with it and make that contribution.”
That speaks volumes about Jill Kottwitz’ character, as well as the overall culture of philanthropic giving embraced by many here in Hamilton County. That generous culture is part of what sets this community apart, quite frankly. In Jill’s case, her generous spirit was reflected even more when there were only two finalists left standing.
“Obviously you never think your number will get drawn,” she said, recalling the dramatic countdown ceremony. “Then you get down to the top 10, then the top five and you’re still thinking there is no way. Then it’s the top three. Actually I felt kind of bad because the other girl who was there with me really wanted the car and I was rooting for her, honestly, because she probably needed it.”
Wow! How many people would be rooting for the other guy in that situation? When Kottwitz realized she had won the new car, even then her first thought was her kids’ reaction.
“Well, I have a 19-year-old and a 15-year-old,” she said of son Tyson, now in college, and daughter Ashlyn, a freshman at AHS. “So what we’re thinking that we’re going to do is I’ll drive the Terrain and then my car will get passed down to one of them. My daughter is driving a Ford Ranger that she is not happy with, being 15, so this will allow us to probably upgrade her car sooner than we had planned.”
Tom and Kim Dinsdale set the bar high by donating a new car to the United Way for each of the past 20 years, encouraging donors to give a little more in order to be eligible to win. To her humble credit, Jill Kottwitz embraces that same generous spirit.
She’s “a winner,” for sure, and the lucky owner of a new Terrain as well.
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net
