Rock 94 morning show host wins national contest

Dee Jaroway is usually on the other side contest giveaways.

On Tuesday, the co-star of Rock 94’s morning show got the surprise of her life, when her ever-present Blackberry buzzed.

On the other end of the line was a representative from the South Korean company’s Canadian headquarters, informing her she was the proud new owner of a 2011 Kia Soul. Jaroway said she couldn’t believe her luck when they finally managed to convince her it wasn’t a hoax.

“I was screaming for joy when I found out,” said Jaroway, who got the news the day before her March 23 birthday.

The contest, in celebration of the company’s 10 millionth vehicle to roll off the assembly line, asked entrants to suggest what they would do if they won a vehicle. Jaroway’s idea was simple, but thoughtful.
 
“I thought it would be really cool if I went across Canada and did something called the Feed My Soul cross-country food drive, collecting donations along the way and tying into that a social networking aspect. So it would include uploading video to Twitter and Facebook and really giving it a lot of exposure, obviously feeding communities along the way,” Jaroway said.

“The Kia Soul is the car that I wanted, so that’s what I called it.”

Performance Kia owner Bruno Niederer, who just happened to be at the Kia’s Mississauga headquarters for an already scheduled Tuesday meeting, said he couldn’t believe his ears when he found out a Thunder Bay resident had won the contest, entered by thousands around the world.

“I was stunned. I said Dee, from Rock 94?” said Niederer, who earlier in the week had voiced radio commercials at the station, where Jaroway had told him about entering the contest.

“She was all excited, jumping up and down, and I couldn’t believe it because her entry was phenomenal, it was great. I know she will do Thunder Bay proud in living up to her commitment to charity,” Niederer said.

Jaroway said she expects to hear from Kia Canada officials soon to discuss their plans for the promotion.