John Collins’ feet are warm thanks to the Pioneer Press.
The winner of last year’s Treasure Hunt stopped in to the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt Beer release at Bad Weather Brewing Co. in St. Paul on Saturday to warm up with a cold one and talk about how he’s outfitted to search for the medallion for the now-underway 2020 Love Your Melon Presents Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt.
“Oh, you bet I’m going to look for it!” Collins said as he pointed down at his new Kamik boots. “These are my Winter Carnival boots. I bought them with some of my Treasure Hunt money.”
The winner of last year’s hunt said he also spent some of his $10,000 winnings to outfit his Jeep (a new stereo and a bumper-mounted winch); in addition, he donated $1,000 to the benefit fund for Jayme Closs, the Wisconsin teen who last January rescued herself from a kidnapper who killed her parents; he set aside the rest for what he estimates he will owe on taxes for the prize money.
Collins, 53, of Fridley, works as a marketing consultant to medical device startups. His current client, he says, knows that he is on a mission to become the first solo winner to find the medallion two years in a row.
“It’s not really about the money,” he said of his quest. “It’s about the victory.”
Collins, who is also known as “JC,” dedicated his find last year to his late father, Tom Collins Sr., who was the one who got the whole family involved in the hunt. If he finds the medallion this year, Collins says that he will dedicate it to his mom, Toni Collins, who passed away in July. She was the parent who drove the Treasure Hunt crew around in the family’s Volkswagen. She finally got to hold that medallion before he turned it in to the Pioneer Press, he said; it was like a lifetime achievement award for the whole family.
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