A Kennewick woman was the grand prize winner of Banner Bank’s Dream Big Sweepstakes, earning $100,000 in cash.

It’s the first time in the program’s three years that a Washington resident – and a Banner Bank customer – has won.

Linda Lunde, 77, was honored during a Sept. 29 celebration at Banner Bank’s downtown Kennewick branch. 

Although participants in the sweepstakes could enter once every 24 hours from April 7 to Sept. 8, Lunde only entered twice. Her two entries were among a total of 680,037 entries and 48,100 participants. 

When the bank called her to let her know she’d won, Lunde thought, “‘That’s impossible. This person sounds nice, but this is a scam,’” she recalled. She went to the bank in person to confirm, then began to believe it. 

Lunde’s been a Banner Bank customer for 41 years.

The bank’s goal with the sweepstakes is to help people think about how they’d dream big, said Kelly McPhee, senior vice president of public relations and communications for the bank. They wanted to do it in a positive and fun way, she said, but most of all, it “feels like the right thing to do.”

Throughout the sweepstakes, four winners get $2,500, all leading up to the grand prize winner. 

Lunde and her husband, RoNayne Lunde, 78, plan to take a month-long trip to Arizona, where they both have brothers. 

The rest of the money they will continue to spend carefully, she said, and they plan to spend it on their family, helping their kids and grandkids out. 

“Think of being able to do that,” she said. “It’s amazing.”

The Lundes have three children and six grandchildren. Linda Lunde worked as a teacher, then later operated Cascade Carver Supply with her husband before officially retiring last year.