By RuthAnn Hogue

“Dad” will be able to help more clients and by tonight, Luigi will again be wagging his Italian greyhound tail at a Scottsdale-area dog park.

And it’s all thanks to a winning ticket that “Mom” entered as part of a grand opening celebration at AmTrust Bank in Maricopa.

Laura White said although entering a contest to win a Honda Civic hybrid seemed like a long shot, the local mom she felt her family needed just such a vehicle so why not give it a go?

“It was easy and it was tempting,” Laura White said Thursday, shortly before accepting the keys to the grand prize from regional and local AmTrust Bank officials. “I never thought we’d really win.”

AmTrust Bank opened its doors in Maricopa June 2, and about a month later staged a full grand opening for the site along with two other East Valley branches that each held such celebrations that day.

The contest was open to customers and guests at all 12 Valley locations.

Laura White was among those who opened an account in Maricopa addition to giving entering the contest a whirl.

“We’re excited to see a customer of ours from Maricopa won our grand prize,” said Doreen Rast, senior regional manager for AmTrust.

A customer of the Fulton Ranch site won a xeroscape landscaping package valued at $2,500, and a customer of the Surprise branch won a year’s worth of groceries valued at $5,200.

Both of those winners chose to take the cash value instead of the actual prizes.

Laura White stood alone by opting to accept the prize as listed.

“I felt we really did (need a car),” she said to her daughter, Kelly White, who drove in from Tempe for the occasion. “Even Dad would agree we needed a car.”

While she didn’t put much thought into winning during her waking hours, Laura White’s subconscious was giving her clues. Laura White said she want back into the bank a week or two after the contest closed for entries and told the “girls” that she had a dream about winning.

It didn’t become real until July 17 when she picked up the phone.

“She comes running back and tells me, ‘I won the car!’” Steve White said. “I never before had jumped out of my chair that quickly.”

As a manager at Bashas’ who oversees the store’s Cub House, however, the Rancho El Dorado resident doesn’t have to go far to get to work.

Dad, otherwise known as her husband Steve White, will most often be behind the wheel of the family’s new ride.

That’s because the Pre-Paid Legal Consultant has recently had to cut back on work because of the cost of fueling his 1995 Lincoln Town Car.

“I’m going to have to get rid of my old friend,” he said, adding that his wife and daughter were much  less fond of his car that had begun costing him between $300 and $400 per month at the pump.

So Laura White said she’d be happy to continue driving her 2000 Toyota Solara.

“It’s huge in a lot of ways,” she said. “We really needed a car and couldn’t afford one so he had to cut back on business calls.”

Being able to head to the Valley for entertainment will be a welcome treat, too.

Even before accepting the keys, the Whites made plans to load up the car tonight  with the family’s pet, Luigi, for a play date at an East Valley dog park.

“He misses his friends,” Kelly White said.
Photo by RuthAnn Hogue