RALEIGH, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Things got a little loud at Fast Phil’s last week when Harmony resident Jo Anne Brown became a millionaire.

“I think everybody in the surrounding area knew we won,” Brown laughed. “We were hootin’ and hollerin’ for sure.”

Brown bought her lucky $10 Jumbo Bucks ticket from the Harmony Highway convenience store in Harmony and scratched the ticket right there in the store.

“We just kept screaming, ‘We are millionaires,’” Brown recalled. “It was like a dream.”

Admittedly, her husband, Kerry Brown, also shed a few happy tears.

“Some things are just meant to be,” Kerry Brown said. “We all did a lot of happy crying.”

After visiting lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Friday, the Browns decided to take the lump-sum of $600,000. After state and federal tax withholdings, that came out to $427,503.

Brown said they would use the winnings to help with her retirement.

“This money will help make that happen,” Brown said. “It’s a life-changing event for us. That’s for sure.”

Brown said they would also use the money to help out their family and perhaps put a pond on their property so their grandkids could go fishing.