Josie Smitherman was chosen as the winner of the Stokes Automotive used car giveaway to benefit the Chilton County Humane Society.

“I was so surprised,” Smitherman said. “I still can’t believe it.”

Her name was drawn at random during a drawing on Dec. 20 and she arrived to pick up the car the very next day.

Smitherman received the news just three days before her birthday and four days before Christmas.

“It’s my early Christmas and birthday gift that is for sure,” Smitherman said.

According to Smitherman, she is not one to normally enter raffles or contests, but did so this time for the primary reason of helping out the Humane Society.

The promotion was originally strung together fairly quickly once Stokes heard about the difficult financial situation that the Chilton County Humane Society was under.

“I knew we would get support, but the amount of what we was a huge surprise,” manager Scott Stokes said.

In order to be eligible to win the car, a donation of $10 had to be made along with a pet item such as dog food or cat litter.

The goal was to raise not only money, but also materials that the Humane Society had become drastically in need of.

As a result of the efforts, $2,796 was raised along with multiple carloads of supplies.

“Everyone in the community needs support, and as a business we see it as our job to help out anywhere we can,” Stokes said. “We try to bring out that close-knit community.”