SUBMITTED PHOTO
Tiffany Higginbotham poses outside the studio in Los Angeles in October, 2012, after she recorded her appearance as a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune." The show aired Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013.
Though she was not called on stage when the Wheel Mobile visited here last summer, a Knoxville woman nonetheless got her name randomly selected from contestants there that day and ended up on "Wheel of Fortune" anyway.
Tiffany Higginbotham of Knoxville said she was "blessed" to be on the game show. She can be seen at 7 p.m. Tuesday on WBIR, Channel 10.
Higginbotham, 30, works as a social worker with the elderly and disabled for United Healthcare and the CHOICES program. She is a native of London, Ky., and came to Knoxville in 2007 to attend the University of Tennessee. After earning her master's degree at UT, she chose to stay here.
She had to navigate many hurdles to get on the nationally syndicated game show. "I went to the call backs and made it through several rounds, including group auditions and a written test. Two weeks later, I received a letter that I was selected as a contestant," she said via email.
"I flew to Los Angeles in October. The whole experience was wonderful. I loved meeting Pat and Vanna. I felt so blessed to be there."
Higginbotham's husband, Evan, accompanied her on the Los Angeles trip. He works for Sitel in Oak Ridge.
Her appearance on “Wheel of Fortune” is the second by a local woman on the show in less than two weeks. Tina Arwood of Knoxville won $56,595 in an episode that aired Friday, Jan. 4. In addition, Paul Kampwerth of Knoxville won a 2013 Scion worth $20,554 on an episode of “The Price Is Right” that aired Wednesday, Jan. 9.
© 2013, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 1
teaspoon91 writes:
Thanks for including this story. I feel like I'm representing all of the people who weren't called up on stage that weekend. Many blessings to everyone! -Tiffany Higginbotham
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