Marine Veteran Wins Sears Store in National Contest

Sears, one of the nation's largest department store retail chains, is giving a U.S. Marine veteran the opportunity to own and operate a Sears Hometown store in his community of Rochelle, Ill. The company announced on Friday that Sgt. Edward Schrank, a 14-year Marine veteran was the winner of its national contest "Operation Stores & Stripes," which kicked off last May and was designed to give military veterans a chance to become small-business owners.

As the grand prize, Schrank acquires a Sears Hometown Store location and license, merchandise and renovation and will receive the first 90 days of the lease as well as 90 days of operating cash flow up to $130,000 to run the store. Sergeant Schrank will open the doors to his Rochelle store at a ribbon cutting ceremony on March 12, Sears announced. Members of the Rochelle Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as representatives of the Small Business Administration's local office, are expected to be in attendance at the event.

"The opportunity to open a Sears Hometown Store has given me a chance to contribute to the local community and provide local jobs, products and services that did not exist in Rochelle before," Schrank said in a statement.

The Sears Hometown store was a retail concept developed 16 years ago as a way to serve Sears customers in locations outside of major metropolitan cities. Each Hometown Store is operated by a member of the local community. There are currently 900 Hometown Stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, according to Sears officials. "Small business is a critical part of the U.S. economy, and Schrank is a great example of how veterans can build successful businesses within their communities that contribute to the local economy," William Elmore, the associate administrator of veterans business development for the Small Business Administration, said in a statement.