Mark Cline knows that fame is fleeting.
“I will be old news tomorrow,” Cline said Thursday.
But the Richwood man who won Ohio’s third Vax-a-Million drawing said he wants to use his limited time in the spotlight in a meaningful way.
“If you are not vaccinated, get vaccinated,” Cline said.
It was his vaccination that gave him the spotlight. It was announced Wednesday that Cline had won $1 million after being vaccinated and registering with the state’s Vax-a-Million program.
“The decision to get vaccinated was pretty simple for me,” Cline said.
He said that when he was younger and living in eastern Ohio, he was a firefighter and paramedic. He said his daughter is a critical care nurse in Columbus and sees what COVID-19 can do to individuals and to hospitals.
“I trust medicine so whether to get the vaccine was never really a question I had to answer,” Cline said. “Once it was approved, that was good enough to go for me. I was never really afraid to get it.”
He said that he decided to take the vaccine as soon as it was available to him.
He credited the Union County Health Department and the clinics they ran at the fairgrounds.
“I thought they did a fantastic job,” Cline said.
He explained that he and his wife went together and neither needed to get out of the car.
“They came to both sides of the car,” Cline said. “There was a line when we got there, but we got through there pretty quickly. We waited our time and we left. It was in and out and you’re on your way.”
He said one day he went the weather was nasty, but volunteers and employees were bundled up.
“They were just so happy and friendly and helpful,” Cline said.
He said it is “a bit disappointing that we don’t have a higher percentage of people vaccinated today.”
The Richwood man said it is a way for people to “protect their friends and family and the people around them.”
Neither Cline or his wife “really had any side effects” other than a sore arm for a few days.
He added, “I was just so glad the vaccine got out and was available.”
Cline said he sees a lot to be thankful for in his life. He said he had “a really good job” at Marathon Petroleum in Findlay. When he retired in 2016, he and his wife moved to the area to be near their daughter’s family and spend time with his grandchildren.
He said winning the million dollars is “icing on a really good life before this.”
Cline said when he learned about the lottery for vaccinated Ohioans, he assumed that since he was already vaccinated, he would not be eligible. When he learned the contest was open to anyone who had at least one shot, he got on his phone and signed up.
“It almost seemed too easy,” Cline said, noting, “I never really imagined I was going to win.”
His wife, Cheryl, also assumed she wouldn’t win, but didn’t want the attention a million would bring so she didn’t register – a fact Cline is quick to point out.
He said that when Gov. Mike DeWine came to the home to share the news, he and Cheryl were watching television. He said the dogs barked and Cheryl checked the video doorbell. Cline said he went to the door because there were “men in suits.”
“Immediately, I recognized the governor,” Cline said.
DeWine asked if he was Mark.
“I said I was,” Cline said. “He said, ‘Well, congratulations you just won the million dollars. I couldn’t believe it and I yelled back into my wife, ‘We won a million dollars,’ and I waited a minute and I yelled, ‘No, I won a million dollars because you didn’t register.’”
DeWine called it an “opportunity” to tell the winner in person.
The Governor said he learns the general area of potential winners on Monday after the names are drawn. He said when he learned the area, he started to think about telling the Central Ohio winner in person. DeWine and his wife, Fran, were able to go to Cline’s Richwood home and watch the live television announcement there.
“It was pretty surreal,” Cline said.
He said from there, “things just started going a mile a minute.”
“It has been really exciting and kind of a fun time to have won this, so it was great,” Cline said.
He said he learned years ago to “live within our means,” and Cline has a nice retirement from Marathon so he wants to put the winnings to good use.
“We certainly will try to help others and help do some meaningful things for some people,” Cline said, specifically mentioning the possibility of funding scholarships.