ASHLAND — Beth Ann Sinnett keeps a running bucket list, and enjoys filling it out.
The pharmaceutical representative and mom of three lives on a farm between Ashland and West Salem, and said she enjoys traveling with her family. They’ve had plenty of cool adventures, but the 1992 Madison graduate recently checked off one more item on her list.
Sinnett applied for — and was accepted to — participate on “Wheel of Fortune,” a television game show that’s been running since 1975.
She and her husband watched the show every night, and she always talked about going on it. So, she finally applied.
It took a year before she heard anything back. When she finally did hear from the show, she thought it was a joke. It wasn’t.
She went through multiple Teams calls with the show’s producers. They asked her to come and film an episode of the show.
Sinnett flew out to Los Angeles in December to film. On Dec. 14, she was in the studio at 6 or 7 a.m. all the way until 8 p.m.
They did her makeup, hair and put the contestants in different groupings to see who worked well together, Sinnett said. During the day, between four to six episodes of “Wheel of Fortune” were filmed.
Sinnett had to keep her appearance on the show a secret for two months once she returned home.
The episode she played on aired Feb. 19. Sinnett came in second place. She celebrated with a family watch party at the AmVets Post 149 in Polk.
Sinnett didn’t enter her game with a strategy. She said the show really came down to luck for the results.
“It’s not about who’s the smartest or the fastest,” Sinnett said. “It’s about how the wheel spins in your favor.”
Her prizes added up to nearly a $10,000 value. For coming in second, Sinnett received $2,000 in cash. She also won an all-expenses paid trip to an Arizona dude ranch, which she hopes to take in the fall.
“In a really rough world sometimes, [it was] just a really happy, positive experience,” she said. “And I think that wasn’t only for me, but that was for family and friends as well.”
Sinnett said anybody interested in going on the show should apply. The producers are great people, and so are Pat Sajak and Vanna White, the show’s hosts.
“If you have a bucket list, live while you’re living,” Sinnett said. “That’s what I say. You never know. Tomorrow is not promised.
“So, I’m one of those people, if there’s something I really really want, I’m going to figure it out.”
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