Lucky the Cat, held by Don Schultz at Affordable Lawn & Garden Equipment Repair in Port Clinton, helped select Deb Oeder as the winner in his latest customer contest. Oeder took home a $500 Blackstone Culinary Grill. (Photo by D’Arcy Patrick Egan)

Owner Don Schultz of Affordable Lawn & Garden Equipment Repair in Port Clinton likes to reward his customers with prize drawings throughout the year, and recently Schultz was brainstorming how to select this month’s lucky winner.

“I decided to spread all of the tickets on the floor, and had my Maine Coon cat, Lucky, check them out,” said Schultz. “I wanted it to the a random drawing, so the very first ticket Lucky checked out from the dozens of entries was declared the winner.”

That ticket belonged to Deb Oeder of Sandusky, who had brought in a riding mower to be repaired.

“The engine in Deb’s two-year-old riding mower had run out of oil,” explained Schultz, and had to be replaced. Winning the Blackstone Culinary Grill with a 28-inch griddle, a top-line back yard grill purchased from Bassett’s Market, made Oeder smile, as did Schultz’s technique for picking her name.

“We’re going to take the grill to my son, who lives in Canton,” said Oeder. “He likes to grill, and this one is big enough to handle big back yard parties.”