It’s a typical Tuesday at Kettering Health Hamilton, where Linda Pilgrim has worked for the last 27 years. Or, at least, she thought it was up until she was surprised by the medical center’s leadership team with the news that she’d been selected as KH Hamilton’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).

And, unbeknownst to her, accompanying that title is what she’ll come to describe as the “best Christmas present ever.”

Just the beginning

Linda is described as a dependable and hardworking leader who, no matter what is always wearing her signature, contagious smile.

She works in the Environmental Services Department, cleaning and disinfecting patient rooms and the entire medical center to keep those who enter our facilities safe. This is incredibly vital to our ability to provide high-quality care for our community.

Linda is also a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan, incorporating their gear into her uniform every chance she gets and watching as many games on TV as she can around her work schedule.

The leadership team explains that as part of being named KH Hamilton’s MVP, she gets the opportunity for her and a guest to join the Bengals private practice at Paycor Stadium on December 3.

Paul Hoover, president at KH Hamilton, led the surprise announcement and explained why the team felt she deserved this recognition. “Linda brings light to everything she touches. She is such a ray of sunshine,” he said. “We don’t say ‘thank you’ enough. So, it was extremely rewarding and affirming to be able to give this recognition that’s part of our greater team at the Cincinnati Bengals.”

The group of leaders and some of Linda’s co-workers chant “Who Dey!” as they celebrate the news, to which she responds, “’Who Dey?’ It’s my day!”

She has no idea that this is just the beginning of the surprises in store for her.

More surprises revealed

At the private practice, Linda had the chance to watch the Bengals train for their upcoming game from the sidelines and afterward, meet players like wide receiver Tee Higgins.

At that point, Linda had never attended a Bengals game—or any professional football game.

What she didn’t know was that that was about to change.

While at the private practice, a representative from the Bengals surprised Linda with a PepsiCo ticket package: tickets and sideline passes for next Sunday’s game, and a shopping spree at the Bengals Pro Shop.

As a Bengals partner, PepsiCo created an initiative to surprise a lifelong Bengals fan who has never been to an NFL game. Because of Linda’s story—her dedicated service at KH Hamilton, her love of the Bengals, and the fact that she’d never been to a game—PepsiCo selected her as their recipient.

On Sunday, December 10, Linda and her daughter got to watch the Bengals at Paycor Stadium for the first time as they faced the Indianapolis Colts—and better yet, see them win.

She describes the experience as the “best Christmas present I’ve ever had.”

Linda’s manager, Ryan Richardson, was her guest for the private practice and helped nominate her and coordinate the surprises. “I’m not sure if Linda would have ever been able to experience a game without this opportunity, and I’m thankful I was a witness,” he said. “Seeing the joy on her face was priceless. Hearing her excitement when she shares the story with people she knows reaffirms that the right choice was made.”

“It meant so much to me,” Linda said. “I never experienced anything like it, and I still can’t believe it. I’m so thankful they picked me, and I’m just going to try to live up to it.”

Her favorite part of it all was “everybody who was involved in getting me there, everyone who made that possible.”

Oh, and of course that her team “got the ‘W.’”