Lucky guy Randy McNeil
Dec 19, 2019
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Luck was truly on Randy McNeil’s side last Tuesday.
En route to another conference after having just departed USA Rice Outlook, McNeil was surprised to see his phone blowing up with calls when his flight landed in Las Vegas. It was friends of his who were still in Little Rock, calling from the General Session.
That’s when Randy learned he had won the Think Rice truck raffle, and he was stunned.
“I didn’t know how to react, to be honest. I never win anything,” said McNeil. “It would have been a lot more fun if I’d been at the drawing, I just wish I could have been there.”
Finding himself in Las Vegas and flush with a little extra luck, McNeil decided to do as the Romans do and try his hand at a slot machine, where he promptly won another $2,400 while waiting to meet up with colleagues.
“I’m not even a gambler, that’s why it’s so funny,” he said. “It was just that one day, though. My wife told everybody, she’s real excited.”
McNeil, owner of Poinsett Rice & Grain with multiple locations in Arkansas, plans to use the truck as a family vehicle and keep the Think Rice wrap on the truck, at least for a while. He’s worked in the rice industry for 40 years, and in a town like Jonesboro, Arkansas, the rice truck will simultaneously stand out and fit right in. “It helps me, since I’m in the rice industry. It’ll be fun for a little while, and at least I won’t be able to go anyplace I’m not supposed to be going!”
The truck is in such high demand, in fact, that a dealership has already tried to buy it back from him. But McNeil told them it wasn’t for sale.
“I know it’s all for a good cause, and I’m a big supporter of USA Rice. It’s a great thing to travel through the U.S. and promote rice like that, and I hope you’re getting a lot of mileage out of the program.”
McNeil will certainly get even more mileage out of it, and it’s good to see another Think Rice truck once again go to someone within the industry and stay in a rice-producing state.
“Tell everybody I appreciate it, and that I won’t embarrass them in my new truck,” McNeil laughed.