Just like any experienced thief, Elizabeth Donnelly had done her homework.
She scoped out the scene ahead of time and planned her route.
With only five minutes before the alarms would sound, Donnelly knew she must work quickly, hitting the high-end stuff first.
And she did.
But it wasnt a heist. In fact, on Saturday morning Donnelly scoured the shelves of Iolas G&W Foods in front of hordes of people as part of Iola Rotarys first-ever Grocery Grab.
In the end, Donnelly filled four grocery carts valued at $1,149.38, for which Rotary will pick up the tab.
The event served as a fundraiser for the local organization, which sold more than 1,000 tickets at $5 apiece. The best part? All of the tickets serve as $5 coupons to G&W.
So it was a win-win, said Bob Hawk, local Rotarian. Altogether, the service club figures they netted well over $3,000.
Way better than a pancake feed, said Hawk. And easier.
Donnelly won the honors by the fact that her future mother-in-law, Dianna Ingle, drew the winning ticket. Donnelly and David Ingle are to be married Nov. 10.
I knew Elizabeth could power through, Ingle said. Diannas husband, Waylon, is pastor at Bible Fellowship Church.
We figure well give some of the food to the church, the food pantry, and our children and grandchildren, Dianna Ingle said.
Ingles name was one of six finalists for Saturdays grocery grab.
The others, Diana Asher, Donna Bauer, Gloria Gentry, Humanity House and Deborah White, were awarded gift certificates to G&W ranging in amounts from $25 to $150.
