Talladega City Schools chief scores on 'Wheel'

Sep. 15—Students of the Talladega City School System returned to class August 9 while their superintendent was sitting in a California television studio not allowed to use his cellphone.

"I was nervous," Dr. Quentin Lee said about that day.

That was the day he was a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune" on an episode which was broadcast Thursday night on ABC 33/40.

Lee won the first puzzle of the night as shown on the broadcast and ended up winning both cash and a trip to France as the show ended.

The episode was part of the game show's "European Vacation Week" and began with Lee winning $1,000 by guessing the first puzzle, "Kicking a soccer ball" in the category of "Fun and Games."

Lee had announced at the school board's recent meeting about his "Wheel" opportunity, although he started not to go because of the school start date. But, Lee said the board was supportive, along with family and friends, about him missing the first day of school for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The show is taped at Sony Pictures in Culver City, Calif., where they tape six shows a day as well as another familiar show with which he had a brief encounter.

"It was an amazing experience," Lee said. "I remember when I first saw the email asking me to come to Los Angeles and wondering if it was real."

Lee did make that journey, along with his wife, where he met up with 22 others, of whom 18 qualified to actually appear on the show.

"I made some new lifelong friends," he said. "There were six shows shot that day and you don't know which one you will be on. You don't get to have your phone and you have the chance to connect with the other contestants and talk all day."

He called the "Wheel" staff "100 percent professional."

"They were very methodical about everything," Lee said. "The first step we had was having hair, makeup and orientation done in the 'Jeopardy' studio," which is adjacent to the "Wheel" studio.

While there, Lee said the contestants got greetings from the hosts who have become icons over the last four decades.

"Vanna [White] came by and talked to us and encouraged us," Lee said. "Some people got emotional."

"When we finally met Pat [Sajak], we found him very funny," Lee said. "It was really cool to see these people I grew up watching."

Lee said the one moment he regrets is calling out a letter that had already been called.

"I was focusing so much on solving the puzzle, I wasn't paying attention to the used letter board," Lee said.

Lee started watching the game with his grandmother when he was little and continues to watch every day with his wife and kids.

"My kids convinced me to apply, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be on the show and show my kids and students that 'anything is achievable,'" he said through a press release from the studio concerning his appearance. Any winnings he might get, he said, would go toward certain area churches and toward constructing his own "man-cave."

The Oxford resident concluded his appearance after solving three more puzzles.

Lee's largest win of the night came with some strategy in connection with the week's special theme.

He chose to solve the puzzle, "coffee-table book" with only $700 banked to add to his previous $1,000 won in the first puzzle. Had he chosen to spin the wheel and go bankrupt, he would have lost a trip to France worth $9,748.

That brought Lee's total winnings to $11,448 but left him in second place.

After solving "German chocolate cake" and "corn dog on a stick," that added another $4,000 to his winnings but left him shy of going on to the final spin.

Lee returned to Alabama with $15,448 including a trip to France and only he and his wife knew about it — and couldn't tell anyone until the show had been broadcast.

"We didn't even tell our kids," Lee said.

Lee was able to tell more than 80 friends and supporters during a watch party held at a local venue where they watched the show together.

"My wife is excited about the trip to Paris, but she says she's also willing to help make the man-cave happen," Lee said. "And yes, we do still have to pay the taxes when we file next year."

Staff Writer Brian Graves: 256-236-1551.