Mom wins new set of wheels
in contest to promote services at Yokota
By Jennifer H. Svan, Tokyo
bureau chief
Jason Carter / Stars and Stripes
Evelina Alliod sits on her new Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle; she won it from
the marketing department at Yokota Air Base, Japan. |
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — One of the first questions people ask
Evelina Alliod about her $9,500 prize from a drawing is: “Are you going to sell
it?”
Maybe it’s because she’s a woman, a wife and mother of
three. Or perhaps it’s due to her soft-spoken voice and gentle nature.
The new Harley-Davidson Sportster is a dream come true for the
35-year-old Alliod, a civilian computer specialist for the 374th Medical Group here.
“There was a lot of disbelief at first. Now that I have it,
it’s sitting here, and I’ve ridden it, it’s just too cool …
awesome.”
Alliod’s name was drawn Oct. 11 from 15,000 entries in the
“Flashback Born to be Wild” contest that began in July to promote services.
Organized by the 374th Services Division, sponsors included Eagle 810, Radisson Hotel
Narita Airport, New Car Sales and the Family Support Center.
To enter, Yokota residents had to use a base service, such as attend
a family advocacy class, complete a will at the legal office or relax in the massage chair
at the Health and Wellness Center, said Jan Bush, marketing director for 374th Services
Division.
“It was to let people know what quality-of-life services are
offered at Yokota,” she said. “We want to do it again next year.”
Services purchased the Harley from New Car Sales for a reduced price,
Bush said.
Contestants could accumulate multiple entries by turning in a booklet
each month stamped by 23 service organizations.
That’s what Alliod did, collecting three booklets and earning
138 entries.
She said she was determined to win.
Alliod and her husband, Louis, an Air Force technical sergeant in the
730th Air Mobility Support Squadron, always wanted to own motorcycles. It was a dream they
thought would have to wait until they were older, when the kids were grown and money was
in the bank.
Louis will surely be allowed to ride the Harley, but the bike belongs
to his wife.
“I told him I’d share, but it’s mine,” Alliod
grinned.
Louis hasn’t seen the bike. He’s in Guam on temporary duty
because of the runway reconstruction project at Yokota.
The Alliod kids, ages 13, 12 and 7, are eager for him to return,
because Dad has been designated to take them for a ride.
Alliod, in the meantime, is getting to know the fast, new machine
that now sits a stone’s throw from her front door. She’s ridden it four times
and cleaned it more.
Alliod already has her motorcycle license. She took a motorcycle
course nine years ago while her husband was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
She didn’t, however, get her license until she won the Harley and completed a
refresher course at Yokota.
It had been years since Alliod last rode a bike.
When the time came to test drive the Harley, “it took me five
minutes to get out to the street because I was so scared,” she admitted.
The Sportster packs a 1,200 cubic-centimeter engine with more
horsepower than some small Japanese cars. Its two-tone blue-and-silver frame is light and
nimble, making for a smooth ride.
The speedometer climbs to 120 mph, but Alliod was told not to take it
over 55 until ticking off 500 miles.
One of these days, she plans to venture off base where she said she
doesn’t fear the roads, despite Japan’s snarled traffic.
Along with the Harley, Alliod also won a Harley-Davidson leather
jacket and a four-night stay at the Radisson Hotel Narita Airport.
In retrospect, she wasn’t the only one surprised when her name
was drawn.
When Alliod went to claim her prize, “the first question they
asked was, ‘Does your husband ride?’ I said, ‘Does it matter? I
ride.’”
Back to October stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from September, 2001
Stories from August, 2001
Stories from July, 2001
Stories from June, 2001
Stories from May, 2001
Stories from April, 2001
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February,2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home |
