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Hannah Tickets Won By Last Man Standing

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By SARAH HOYE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 15, 2007

TAMPA - They say it takes two to tango.

And that was the case, even after Lara Padgett let go of a 12-foot Hannah Montana statue in the seven-day contest held by the "MJ Morning Show" on WFLZ, 93.3 FM.
Jody Powell of Port Charlotte was declared the winner of the Hannah Monstrosity contest, but he'll share the prize with Padgett.

"I'm ecstatic. It's like a dream come true," said Powell, 35, holding four tickets to the sold-out show and a photo of his fiancee with 6-year-old daughter, Hannah. "If I had to stay one more night on that stage with Lara, I was leaving. She wasn't giving up."

The contest winnings also included $5,000 and backstage passes to the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus "Best of Both Worlds Tour" scheduled for Monday at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Padgett didn't hang tough for more than 150 hours for nothing. She and Powell made a deal: he gets the tickets, she gets the backstage passes and they'll split the money.

Powell said he will use his half of the money toward his wedding in January.

"I'm still in shock," said Powell's fiancee, Amy Robinson, 31. "Entering the contest was my idea, but I know I didn't have the endurance to do it."

Earlier this week, Powell made it clear he was determined.

"After Hurricane Charlie, we had to live in FEMA housing; it was bad," said the father of six children ages 19 to 7. "This is a vacation."

Padgett apparently became distracted Thursday afternoon while adjusting her T-shirt and let go.

"That sun really got to me today," Padgett said. "I took my hand off the fur-lined boot."

Padgett was later taken to a nearby hospital to be examined after she said she wasn't feeling well. A Clear Channel official told reporters Padgett's vitals "were normal."

The Hannah Monstrosity contest began Nov. 8 with 20 contestants holding on to the statue's base in the parking lot of Clear Channel Communications, 4002 W. Gandy Blvd., in Tampa.

As the days and nights wore on, contestants dropped out at a rate of two or three a day. They were allowed 12-minute breaks every three hours, their meals were catered, but contestants couldn't be entertained by books, cell phones or iPods.

The nights proved hard with people falling asleep and losing touch with the statue. On Wednesday, the remaining four contestants were moved atop the base to make direct contact with the $11,800 statue.

Reporter Sarah Hoye can be reached at (813) 259-7832 or shoye@tampatrib.com.

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