As most Christians celebrate the days leading up to Easter, one New Orleans church volunteer has an extra reason to rejoice and be glad. During this Holy Week, HGTV announced New Orleans resident and deaconess Phyliss Jackson-Polk as the winner of its 2023 Urban Oasis home giveaway.
“I never thought this would happen to me. I thought it was a prank until I saw Brian at my door,” she said in a press release referring to the home’s designer, Brian Patrick Flynn. “Tears started rolling down my face because it was just so surreal that this was actually happening to me.”
Now feeling on top of the world, Jackson-Polk, 73, was shocked by the news after years of entering HGTV home sweepstakes. Randomly selected from over 73 million entries, the New Orleans deaconess not only wins a newly built and fully furnished home valued at over $850,000 but also a new 2023 Mercedes-Benz SUV, $50,000 and a five-year supply of paper towels from the giveaway’s sponsor Viva.
To deliver the news, Jackson-Polk’s nephew, Lloyd, his wife, Tash, and the HGTV team worked together to make it extra special.
“My aunt Phyliss, she’s always been a pillar of strength for our family,” Lloyd said, per People magazine. “She’s always been the one to go to if you needed someone to talk to.”
Similarly, her family added that Jackson-Polk’s win is especially well deserved as she “constantly gives back to her community and even sends out inspirational messages to over a hundred people every day.”
The giveaway winner and her husband, Clark, will be moving into a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom 2,259-square-foot home in Louisville, Kentucky. Inspired by the city’s history, the open-concept home has a modern luxury feel with sprinkles of Southern charm in its decor. Jackson-Polk said she loves the home’s bright, sunshine-yellow front door and looks forward to lounging on her new back porch with a cup of coffee.
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