Sarasota resident discusses appearance on 'Wheel of Fortune'

It happened due to a couple of mistakes, skill at "Wheel of Fortune" puzzles, and a fortuitous connection over banana pudding. 

When Sarasota's Jenn Walker attended an event affiliated with the game show at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, with a friend, they thought its host Mark. L. Walberg was the more widely-known Mark Wahlberg. 

"That's really the only reason she wanted to go, and the only reason I agreed to go," Walker said. 

When amid the crowds, Walker missed the opportunity to register to appear on stage, she decided to apply for the regular "Wheel of Fortune," a decision that ultimately led to her becoming a contestant on the show on Dec. 5.

Walker has long-held memories of the show, which date back to watching it—and Jeopardy—while shelling beans and peas with her grandmother Maxine Corley and mother Debbie Almond at the time she was growing up in Georgia.

It came to the point that when she watched the show with friends, they would comment on her skill at solving the puzzles. However, she also thinks that part of the reason she was selected was her answer of "banana pudding" in a questionnaire about herself. 

She said in her office at Risk Services; she has won awards for her banana pudding, while she was told the answer spoke to co-host Vanna White, whose banana pudding recipe has garnered a significant reputation. 

Photo by Ian Swaby

A period of waiting then followed the interviews and test puzzles in the application. 

"I literally thought, like they must have chosen someone else, and hadn't thought anything else about it, so it was kind of a surprise when I got the email," she said.

Traveling with her daughter Kaleigh Kelley and sister Trina Salts to Culver City, California, where the show was taped on Sept. 28, not all went as planned. 

A tattoo she had recently added to her back kept coming uncovered, and had to be patched up with tape and cotton pads her sister ordered. 

Then, after she arrived at the studio, she grew nervous as she watched the contestants in front of her miss answers she was sure they would have realized without the attention of cameras, while she also worried she would sweat through the bandages on her back.

"I was a wreck. I was a nervous wreck," she said.

Ultimately, she came away from the experience with a trip to Portugal and Spain, although some controversy did ensue among fans of the show over a decision by host Ryan Seacrest.

As the last person on stage eligible to answer a question, Walker did not sound her buzzer, meaning she couldn't claim a $2,000 prize despite providing the correct answer of "Well-Balanced Meal."

"Literally as soon as it buzzed, I was like, 'Oh my God, oh my God Jennifer, I cannot believe you missed that," she said. 

However, she eventually came to terms with the mistake. 

"That was heartbreaking, and for a little bit, I let that get to me... and then I was like, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity," she said. "I got a cool trip. I got some cash. I've got to stop thinking about what I didn't win, because how many people can say they went on 'Wheel of Fortune'? I should be so grateful and thankful, and I am."

At first, after moving past the error, she had "no intentions" of watching the episode, yet, while visiting El Toro Bravo Restaurant with her friend Sally Rockey, Rockey had other ideas. 

"She made them turn it on, and we watched it, and I'm glad, because it was neat," she said. "It was neat seeing Seacrest and Vanna and being served banana pudding by Vanna."

Now, it's back to life as usual for Walker, although she looks forward to the 17-day trip in August.

"Being on the show didn't make me feel any different," she said. "I think it was a cool experience, and I'm so glad I got to do it. It was so much fun."