By Debra Davis

Shemika Curtis of Marion Junction said she has never owned a new car, but she drove away in a new Ford Focus Monday afternoon, thanks to the Built Ford Tough F-150 Sweepstakes.

She was one of nearly 12,000 Alabama Farmers Federation members who entered the sweepstakes that ran Nov. 1, 2017, through May 31. Participants entered the sweepstakes online or through their local Alfa Insurance office for a chance to win a two-year lease on a Ford F-150. Curtis opted instead to pay the difference in the lease price and purchased the Focus. The new car won by Curtis was delivered by Harbin Ford of Scottsboro.

“When I got the call, I thought it was a prank,” said the mother of five, who at the time was on lunchbreak from her job at Seoyon-E-Who, a Hyundai Motor Co. supplier in Selma. “I started to hang up, but he kept talking, and I remembered filling out the sweepstakes form when I paid my insurance more than a year ago. I’ve never won anything like this. My old car was giving me trouble, and I didn’t know what I was going to do about paying to have it repaired. This is such a blessing, and it came at the perfect time.”

Curtis said she’s been an Alfa Insurance customer for more than eight years. She praised the company for its friendly service.

“I know it’s a good company to do business with,” she said, “and you can bet my new car will be insured by Alfa, too.”

Alfa President Jimmy Parnell presented the keys to Curtis in a ceremony at the company’s Montgomery headquarters as her family looked on.

“It’s great to see someone so excited,” Parnell said. “Our organization has a great partnership with Ford, and we are happy to reward one of our members with a great Ford vehicle.”

The national Built Ford Tough F-150 Sweepstakes continues until Sept. 30, 2018. Members can text the word SWEEPS to 46786 to enter. Messaging rates apply.

The Alabama Farmers Federation is the state’s largest farm organization with nearly 360,000 members and is an affiliate of the American Farm Bureau Federation.