Shelia Evans said she remembers the exact day she was handed the ticket with which she won $3,000 in Andy Bucks this week.

It was at Darby’s.

“Oh yes. I prayed over this ticket,” she said Thursday. “I asked God to please let it be the winning ticket.”

Her prayer was answered Tuesday night when her number was pulled in the monthly Andy Bucks drawing. Because no one claimed the winnings for the past two months, the winnings had increased to $3,000.

And by the time she met with Mayor Earl Johnson to claim her winnings Thursday, she’d already been scoping out participating merchants to plan her spending.

“I’ve got a child in college, a child that’s a senior this year, and a child that’s in 10th grade,” she said. “I’ve already been looking at a few things.”

First, her daughter Breanna Johnson said, “We’re going to eat.”

Afterward, they had a few things on hold at Ward & Co. they planned to pick up.

Participants include Barrow’s Furniture, Beef O’Brady’s, Brooks Hardware, Christopher’s, Darby’s, David’s Catfish, Delta Lighting, Andalusia Farmer’s Co-Op, Harold’s Furniture, Ireland Trailer, Lee’s Samauri, Mary Kay Consultants, Pale Moon Yarns, Singer’s, Sporting Lifestyles, Two Guys Pies, Walker Business, Ward & Co., and Yo’ Cravin.

Shoppers are given a ticket for every $10 spent with a participating merchant. On the first Tuesday of each month, a winner is drawn from tickets representing purchases made in the previous month.

May’s tickets are hot pink. The winning ticket in June will be worth $1,000.