The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, TX

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December 8, 2009

Huntsville man to appear on 'Wheel of Fortune'

By Gene Schallenberg

Years of figuring out puzzles and playing close attention to game shows on television have finally paid off for a Huntsville teacher.

Donny Brown, a teacher for students with special needs at Bayes Achievement Center, will be a contestant on one of his favorite shows, “Wheel of Fortune.”

The show, which was recorded in October, airs tonight at 6:30 on CBS.

“It was very exciting,” Brown said Monday evening. “It was my first time on a plane and it was my first time in L.A. I was nervous. It was pretty surreal.”

Even though Brown has been a longtime viewer, he didn’t know what to expect when he arrived for the taping.

“Even though I knew what everything looked like with the wheel and the board, being there and in front of a studio audience was great,” Brown said. “Everything looks a lot bigger on TV than it does in person.

“The people are great. I became friends with the other contestants. Pat Sajak and Vanna White are really down-to-earth people.”

Brown, who has watched Wheel of Fortune since he was approximately 12 years old, admitted that he had become adept to figuring out the show’s puzzles after following it for so long.

His wife noticed as well and applied for him online at www.wheeloffortune.com.

“My wife signed me up nearly a year ago and I never thought anything else would come of it,” Brown said. “Then about eight or nine months ago, I got an e-mail to audition at the Galleria in Houston.”

After auditioning, Brown was one of the limited few that survived the first cut.

Then Brown took a written test with a variety of puzzles and participated in a more intense simulated game.

“They really wanted to see how we would react to certain situations,” Brown said. “A short while after that, I got a letter saying that I had been entered into a contestants’ pool. Later, I got another letter stating that I would be a contestant for a show that was to be taped on Oct. 22.”

Though the process of getting on “Wheel of Fortune” was an extensive one, being a part of the show is something Brown admitted he’ll remember for a long time.

“It was a great process,” Brown said. “The other contestants were from all over the country. It truly was a special experience. My family is really excited to see me on TV.

“This just goes to show that anything, however unlikely, is possible and can happen.”

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