The winner of the United Way Step Up Challenge is Danielle Smith, an employee at the Publix store at Cove Road and U.S. 1.

Ms. Smith won the 2008 Dodge Avenger donated by Massey-Yardley Chrysler Dodge that was offered as the prize in the United Way Step Up Challenge sweepstakes as a way to encourage more people to give. The sweepstakes drew 1,200 entries, which would amount to donations of at least $62,400.

The 10 finalists in the United Way Step Up Challenge gathered for the United Way of Martin County’s annual Champions of the Community awards dinner, held March 27 at Hutchinson Island Marriott.

It was a big night for Publix and the Cove Road store:

• Publix Super Markets earned the Corporate Champion Award for conducting the top workplace campaign, raising $299,976 in donations, pledges and corporate gifts for United Way of Martin County.

• Curtis Coulter, the manager of the Cove Road Publix, was honored as the Campaign Champion for not only conducting a model campaign at his own store, but for serving on the Campaign Cabinet and helping to provide resources and ideas for other workplaces and the overall United Way of Martin County campaign.

But the special Publix winner of the night was a big surprise. “It feels like I’m in a dream,” said Ms. Smith, who works in the Publix deli. Co-workers from Publix were on hand to congratulate her, along with John Yardley from Massey-Yardley Chrysler Dodge.

The prize give-away followed the Champions dinner. Each finalist got to select a key -- but only one of the 10 keys would unlock the car. It turned out that Danielle Smith selected the right key.

The finalists were as follows, and they represented some of United Way of Martin County’s top corporate and community campaigns:

• Dr. Thaddeus Lenick – from the Monarch community.

• Danielle Smith – from Publix.

• Tammie Fowler – from Wachovia.

• Albert Wunsch – from the Willoughby community.

• Jim Foley – from Publix.

• Lewis W. Roberts – from Martin Memorial Health Systems.

• Sam Rolling – from Martin County Fire & Rescue.

• Danielle Johnson – from Publix.

• Margaret Orbesen – from Monarch.

• Racheal Gamblin – from Publix.

To enter the United Way Step Up Challenge, people 18 and older were asked to make a donation of at least $52 (a dollar a week) to the United Way’s Common Good Fund. It could be a new donation or an increase over the past year’s donation.

Last year, the prize was a 2007 Dodge Caliber, donated by Massey-Yardley Chrysler Dodge and won by Debbie Pappas, a bank teller at Seacoast National Bank.

More information is available at www.unitedwaymartincounty.org or by calling (772) 283-4800.